French PM says EADS is strategic-report

PARIS, June 14 (Reuters) European aerospace giant EADS is a strategic company for France and Europe, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said in a newspaper interview released today, adding there were no plans to nationalise it.

''There is no question of nationalising it, but the state will not shirk its responsibilities,'' Fillon said in an interview to be published in the Friday edition of the French daily newspaper, Le Figaro.

France has said it would play an active role in solving the crisis at EADS, including taking part in a capital increase if needed. Newly elected President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the French government could eventually sell its stake in EADS, the parent of Airbus.

But Germany has resisted what it sees as attempts by Paris to unbalance a shareholders pact, under which both sides have equal say.

The French government holds 15 percent of EADS, and French media group Lagardere Groupe has 7.5 percent. German car maker DaimlerChrysler AG holds 15 percent of the shares and 22.5 percent of the voting rights, after placing a 7.5 percent stake with a banking consortium earlier this year.

Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to hold talks on EADS when they meet in Toulouse, Airbus's headquarters in France, in July as part of a regular Franco-German summit.

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