BERLIN, July 24 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich

Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Wednesday to

try to resolve differences over the FCAS Franco-German-Spanish

fighter jet project by the end of August, a German government

spokesperson said.

At a dinner on the outskirts of Berlin, the two leaders

discussed the project, worth more than 100 billion euros

($117.73 billion), which has been dogged by delays and

infighting over workshare and intellectual property rights.

"The defence ministers were tasked with evaluating a

realistic outlook for further cooperation within the FCAS

consortium by the end of August and submitting proposals for

resolving existing conflicts," said the German spokesperson.

Dassault Aviation, Airbus, and Indra are involved in the

scheme to start replacing French Rafale and German and Spanish

Eurofighters with a fifth-generation fighter jet from 2040.

The countries are at odds over the composition of the

consortium. France has told Germany it wants a workshare of some

80% in FCAS, a defence industry source told Reuters this month.

Germany expects Dassault to adhere to the existing

agreements, the German spokesperson said.

The talks between Merz and Macron also touched on European

space policy, Ukraine, the Middle East, and trade talks with the

United States, said the spokesperson.

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