during my atpls I was also told Airbuses have lifting (up) horizontal stabs, and they could do so because stability is improved by fly by wire.. now if anyone has docs on this I would be interested in reading
There's an inherent problem there, though: If the airplane is inherently unstable (like the F-16) or marginally stable (like the F/A-18), loss of FBW means loss of airplane (F-18) or a VERY limited manual backup capability (F/A-18A, but not even that in the E/F, IIRC).
AFAIK, at least the smaller airbusses have reasonable manual reversion capability, as demonstrated in the DHL "shootdown" in Bahgdad. Therefore, they have to have inherent stability that is better than that demonstrated by an upward-lifting tail.
Go back to whoever told you the story during your atpls, and have him show you the references.