The collapse of Airbus

The European Union's aircraft company Airbus, Boeing's main surviving rival, has been so weakened by internal squabbling and political interference as to prompt speculation that its break-up is a possibility. Delays in the development of its new flagship civilian and military planes have led to loss of business and accusations of hubris. The problems at Airbus illustrate the overall weaknesses of the EU -- bureaucracy, unaccountability, central planning, political micromanagement -- which make it poorly equipped to deal with the fast-paced modern world, and increasingly implausible as a rival to the US.