FRANKFURT (AFX) - German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said the government has not yet made a decision on whether to acquire a stake in Airbus parent EADS but defended the reasons for possibly doing so.
In an interview with the Suedeutsche Zeitung, to be published tomorrow, Steinbrueck said: 'It's about stabilising a company, keeping jobs for qualified workers and staying on eye level with our French partners.'
If the government decides to purchase EADS' shares, German government ministers would not take positions on the company's supervisory board, he added.
'Nobody has the idea of suddenly making the government an entrepreneur,' Steinbrueck told the paper.
'On the other hand, we can't just leave Airbus alone because some problems with its management have landed the company in a crisis and some of its industrial shareholders want to sell their shares.'
Steinbrueck refuted criticism that billions of euros in government aid would be more money wasted in the troubled aerospace company.
DaimlerChrysler AG has decided to reduce its stake in EADS to 15 from 22.5 pct.
The German government could purchase this stake itself or alongside private investors and banks, according to media reports. Tyler.Sitte@afxnews.com ts/jlw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited