I imagine it will be more geopolitics than anything else, but the EASA says 2026 is “too soon”.
Certifying a new jet from scratch is usually a multi-year endeavour, so why would it be geopolitics?
The C-Series, latest jet to be certified, took a good 2.5 years from first flight to type certification.
And the C919 hasn't started EASA certification yet.
I imagine it will be more geopolitics than anything else, but the EASA says 2026 is “too soon”.