EADS look at doing without state support

European aerospace giant EADS is examining if it can do without German support, amid increasing pressure from Berlin on the group to safeguard Germany's interests, the Frankfurter Allgemine Zeitung reported Monday. In February, Tom Enders, the group's new chief executive, announced the group would be restructured, with management of the giant to be concentrated in Toulouse, as opposed to the current Paris, Munich, Toulouse split. That sparked murmurings from Berlin, with Peter Hintze, who is Germany's coordinator for the aerospace sector, saying it was "unacceptable" that German plants would not be expanded. He also called for a "reversal of the trend." To avoid such pressure from Berlin, EADS and its subsidiary Airbus are now looking at whether they can do without development support from the federal government, said the newspaper, quoting sources close to the company. Berlin had offered development credit worth a billion euros to help EADS build the long-haul aircraft A350. Half of those funds have been transferred, but Airbus may refuse the remainder, as it currently has 11.4 billion euros net ($15 billion) in liquidity, the newspaper said.