美元贬值，欧洲不干了

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Sarkozy backs Airbus, calls for wiser euro use
Sat Jun 23, 2007 5:41pm BST

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

LE BOURGET, France (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Saturday Europe needed to use the euro better to protect its business interests as he threw his weight behind aircraft maker Airbus at the Paris air show.

Airbus has often said the high value of the euro affected its sales and put it at a disadvantage to U.S. rival Boeing Co

(BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

"I ask that we do with the euro what the Americans are doing with the dollar, what the Chinese are doing with the yuan, what the Japanese with the yen and sorry for saying it, what the English do with the British pound," Sarkozy said.

"Did we create the world's second largest currency so that we would not use it? ... How can our industrial groups compete if the dollar loses 34 percent against the euro?" Sarkozy added.

Sarkozy's pro-business stance helped him win the French presidential election earlier this year and he used his address at the Paris air show to criticise France's 35-hour working week law and the country's tax regime.

AIRBUS

Airbus has been hit by delays which caused a slump in the 2006 profits of parent company EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) (EAD.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) but it has since fought back with a series of high-profile orders at the Paris air show.

However, the company's plans to cut 10,000 jobs have sparked anger among powerful trade unions in France and Germany.

France and Germany both have stakes in EADS and some analysts have said that conflicts between the two states over business issues at EADS have hampered the company's progress.

Sarkozy said he would discuss Airbus at a meeting next month in Toulouse with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. German industrial group Daimler (DCXGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and French company Lagardere (LAGA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), which are also key shareholders in Airbus, would also be at the meeting.

"I am totally determined to do all we can so that this extraordinary European success story can continue to grow," he said. "It is possible for a Franco-German company to work."

Sarkozy also called for a better integrated Europe defence programme.

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