Still no decision on A400M

Airbus Military image

5 February 2010

No agreement has yet been reached on how to tackle the cost over-run of the A400M.
 

February 5: Despite Airbus Military’s deadline of the end of January passing, no agreement has yet been reached on how to tackle the cost over-run of the A400M transport aircraft programme.

It was hoped that a solution could be found this week at the informal meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Istanbul, Turkey where Afghanistan is the main topic on the agenda. On the sidelines, personnel from Airbus parent company EADS are meeting with ministers from the seven partner nations in the programme - Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey – to see if the €6.4 billion funding gap can be closed.

News agency AFP reports that the French Defence Minister, Herve Morin, is urging the other partners to find an extra €1.5 billion on top of the €2 billion already tentatively agreed, but still leaving a €2.9 billion shortfall for EADS to find. "I have the Prime Minister's agreement for France to extend a refundable advance of €400 million," he told reporters. "That will take us to between €1 to €1.5 billion if other countries follow suit."

In a twist, Morin also said the partners have called on Airbus Military to "honour its responsibilities and respect the obligations it has made" and set EADS a three-week deadline to agree the deal, saying that the agreement could be sealed at the next meeting of European Union defence ministers at the end of February.

Meanwhile work has started on the fourth aircraft at the plant in Seville, indicating Airbus Military is still proceeding with the programme at full speed.

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