Eurofighter production accord to be signed

Four European defence ministers are to sign a legally-binding investment agreement in Germany today, to begin production of the Eurofighter aircraft.

The plane is designed as a vital part of the front-line defence for Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain in the next century; they will also share in its construction, providing thousands of jobs for their workers.

But the project has been threatened by a series of financial and political delays, with critics arguing in favour of American aircraft.

But supporters insist it's vital to maintain an independent European defence capability.

The first of some six-hundred Eurofighters are expected to be delivered in the year two thousand and two.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service