Airbus an EU Success ?

Today will see the unveiling of the world largest airliner, the Airbus A380. Champagne will be drunk, caviar swallowed and the great and the good will pat themselves on the back. Then someone will ruin the party by saying something like this:

EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen added: "The 'Super-Airbus' demonstrates that working together in the EU pays off."

Or:

"The A380 is a symbol of what Europe can achieve by working together," EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot

What the Airbus project has to doing with the EU is anyone’s guess, but to the best of my knowledge it’s a collaboration between four countries. They of course happen to be EU members but that’s about it.