based on the above, please answer the below questions:

1. Where do you stand? Do you think EU subsidies and soft loans to Airbus are fair? Why or why not? What advantages are gained by Airbus from free financial support from the EU governments?
2. Do you believe U.S. military contracts with Boeing amount to subsidies? Have these types of payments provided Boeing with unfair advantages? Justify your answer.
3. Assuming that Airbus cannot compete without subsidies and loans, is it likely that the EU will discontinue its financial support of Airbus? Is it in the EU’s interests to continue supporting Airbus? Justify your answer.

CLOSING CASE Government Intervention at Airbus and Boeing Historically, United States companies such as Boeing (www.boeing. com) and McDonnell Douglas were the dominant players in the global aircraft industry. Founded in 1916 in Seattle, Boeing had many years to develop the critical mass necessary to become the world's leading aerospace manufacturer. During World War II and the subsequent Cold War years, Boeing received many lucrative con- tracts from the U.S. Department of Defense. No single country in Europe possessed the means to launch an aerospace company capable of challenging Boeing. Manufacturing European Union (EU). Airbus must repay the loans only if it achieves commercial aircraft is complex and capital-intensive and requires a highly skilled workforce. In the 1970s, the governments of France, Government Support for Airbus Since the 1940s, European governments have pursued public poli- cies based on democratic socialism. Under this system, Europeans became accustomed to government playing a significant role in guiding economic affairs. Airbus has benefitted enormously from government support. The firm has received tens of billions of euros of subsidies and soft loans from the four founding country governments and the profitability. Government aid has financed, in whole or part, every major Airbus aircraft model. European governments have forgiven Airbus's debt, financed R&D for civil aircraft projects, and provided infrastructure and huge equity infusions. Airbus is currently a stock-held company jointly owned by the British, Germans, French, and Spanish. It is based in Toulouse, France, but has R&D and production operations scattered through- out Europe. European governments justify their financial aid to Airbus on several grounds. First, Airbus R&D activities result in the development of valuable new technologies. Second, Airbus provides jobs to some 55,000 skilled and semiskilled Europeans. Third, its Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom formed an alliance, sup- ported with massive government subsidies, to create Airbus S.A.S. (www.airbus.com). By 1981, the four-country alliance succeeded in becoming the world's number-two civil aircraft manufacturer. Airbus launched the A300, among the best-selling commercial aircraft of all time. The Airbus A320 received more than 400 orders before its first flight, becoming the fastest-selling large passenger jet in aviation history. By 1992, Airbus captured roughly one-third of the global commercial aircraft market. Airbus surpassed Boeing in orders for new aircraft in most of the 15 years through 2015.