Germany seems to have put defense of national interests in the Airbus crisis before its policy of urging Europeans to create cross-border champions, and to have done so with success.

Berlin's campaign to safeguard jobs in the fierce political battle leading up to the announcement of Airbus cutbacks on Wednesday appeared to have worked, since fewer German jobs are to be axed than had been feared.

Politicians here hailed the "Power8" rescue plan over which they haggled for months and which entails the loss of 10,000 jobs over the next four years as "fair" and "balanced".

"At first sight, the principle of fair distribution appears to have been respected," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the details of the plan were made public by Airbus parent company EADS in Toulouse.

But Merkel said she "regretted" the "difficulties and difficult decisions" that the cuts would entail.

Under the plans, aimed at saving 5 billion euros by 2010 and 2.1 billion euros per year thereafter, France is to bear the brunt of the cuts, with 4,300 jobs to be axed there.

Germany will see 3,700 jobs cut, 1,600 will be axed in Britain and 400 in Spain.

Originally, Germany had feared that 5,000-8,000 German jobs could be on the line.

Airbus's seven German sites currently employ a workforce of around 21,000.

Negotiations over the rescue plan had caused such serious political tensions between the French and German governments that its implementation was delayed.

And even though Germany has in the past championed the cause of creating European-sized industrial players, it fought tooth and nail to safeguard its interests this time round.

Veiled threat

At one point, Economy Minister Michael Glos issued a veiled threat that the government would re-think its contracts with Airbus parent company EADS if it felt that German interests were being unjustly neglected.

Glos' reaction was one of relief on Wednesday.

"The Airbus rescue plan is balanced," he said.

Government spokesman Thomas Steg added: "We've succeeded in safeguarding German interests," he said.

"And we only did so because all of the players on the German side acted in unison and with determination."

Source: China Daily/AFP