House of Lords written question – answered at on 21 October 2013.
Lord Hunt of Chesterton
Labour
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will ensure that the United Kingdom’s participation in the Airbus consortium will not be endangered by discussion by Ministers about holding a referendum in 2017 on continued membership of the European Union.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
The UK Government work closely with Airbus and the three Governments that hold shares in its parent company—France, Germany and Spain. The UK’s main sources of support for the company are delivered through Research and Development (R&D) funding and repayable launch investment. None of this funding is dependent on the UK’s membership of the EU and is made at the discretion of the UK Government.
The UK also has a place in the Airbus Inter-governmental Committee alongside France, Germany and Spain. This is not an EU body, but an arrangement recognising that the four Governments invest large sums in Airbus and have an interest in maintaining close contacts with the company. The ministerial meetings build upon regular official-level meetings. This activity would not be affected by any decision on the UK’s membership of the EU.
There are two areas where changes in the UK’s engagement with the EU could have some, limited impact. The first is around the UK’s input into the WTO case on subsidies to aircraft manufacturers brought against the EU by the US, and the counter-claim brought by Europe. A UK withdrawal from the EU could have some impact on this case, but the most likely outcome would be that it would continue as now, with the UK co-ordinating its input alongside the EU’s. The second area which may have an impact is in the UK’s ability to participate in cross-European Aerospace research projects. We cannot say now what impact this will have on the UK but it is unlikely to impact significantly on the UK’s relationship with Airbus as the Majority of R&D support is currently delivered through individual Governments.
Yes1 person thinks so
No1 person thinks not
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