PARIS (AP) - Shares in European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. fell Thursday after a U.S. government agency recommended reopening a $35 billion U.S. Air Force tanker contract that it won with partner Northrop Grumman.

In Paris trading, shares in Airbus parent company EADS fell 2.5 percent to close at 13.21 euros ($20.48).

The General Accounting Office said it found "a number of significant errors" in the selection process that led to the Air Force awarding one of its biggest contracts in decades to Northrup and EADS instead of U.S. competitor Boeing Co. The decision is not binding, but it puts heavy pressure on the Air Force to reopen the contract and could help Boeing capture part or all of the deal.

For EADS, breaking into the world's largest military market is crucial to CEO Louis Gallois' strategy of reducing the group's dependence on the commercial airliner market.

Gallois said Wednesday he was "disappointed" with the GAO decision, but noted the evaluation concerned "the selection process, not the merits of the aircraft."

The Air Force's decision provoked fury among U.S. politicians, who objected to the military deal being awarded to an overseas contractor. Boeing had supplied refueling tankers to the Air Force for nearly 50 years.

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama lauded the GAO decision and called for a "fair and transparent" rebidding of the contract.

Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who was instrumental in the Pentagon's long attempt to complete a deal on the tanker, called the GAO decision "unfortunate for the taxpayers."

Under the EADS-Northrop proposal, the tanker frame is to be based on the Airbus A330 passenger jet, and final assembly would take place in Mobile, Alabama. Civilian Airbus A330 freighters would be assembled there, too.

Europe would play a role in building the tanker, with the nose made in France, the wings in Britain and part of the fuselage in Germany.

Northrop said its tanker contract would support four new factories and 48,000 jobs with 230 U.S. suppliers.

Boeing estimates the tanker contract would support 44,000 new and existing jobs with more than 300 U.S. suppliers.

Boeing shares rose $1.93 to $76.58 on Thursday.