*Source: DTN News / Telegraph.co.uk By Amy Wilson
(NSI News Source Info) LONDON, UK - February 2, 2010: Ministers are expected to meet again in Berlin on Thursday, after talks between the countries and the company broke down last week. Airbus had set a deadline of January 31 to reach a resolution. 
Airbus close to agreement on delayed A400m military transport plane Photo: AFP
Herve Morin, the French defence minister, said yesterday: "the nations and EADS are moving closer together rather than further apart," and UK defence sources also said a resolution looked increasingly likely.
The A400M is estimated to be around €11bn (£9.6bn) over its original cost of €20bn for 170 planes. Germany is the biggest customer, with an order for 60 aircraft, and is understood to be resisting the company's demands for the countries to take on more of the financial burden. The governments have reportedly offered to put around an extra €2bn into the project, less than the €4.4bn requested by Airbus. That sum was already lowered from the $5bn the company initially asked for.
Airbus's parent company, EADS, has already set aside €2.4bn in its accounts to cover development risks on the plane. Airbus has admitted making mistakes in the original terms of the contract but wants the countries to take on more of the financial burden because of political interference in the way some of the work was divided up. The engine, for example, was built from scratch by a consortium of European companies, instead of buying off-the-shelf from the US.
Negotiations between Airbus and its customers, which include Germany, France, the UK and Spain, have been at a standstill for almost a year. Last month, the company threatened to cancel the A400M programme if it could not agree extra funding, saying it could not be allowed to jeopardise the civil aircraft business.
Airbus close to agreement on delayed A400m military transport plane Photo: AFP
Herve Morin, the French defence minister, said yesterday: "the nations and EADS are moving closer together rather than further apart," and UK defence sources also said a resolution looked increasingly likely.
The A400M is estimated to be around €11bn (£9.6bn) over its original cost of €20bn for 170 planes. Germany is the biggest customer, with an order for 60 aircraft, and is understood to be resisting the company's demands for the countries to take on more of the financial burden. The governments have reportedly offered to put around an extra €2bn into the project, less than the €4.4bn requested by Airbus. That sum was already lowered from the $5bn the company initially asked for.
Airbus's parent company, EADS, has already set aside €2.4bn in its accounts to cover development risks on the plane. Airbus has admitted making mistakes in the original terms of the contract but wants the countries to take on more of the financial burden because of political interference in the way some of the work was divided up. The engine, for example, was built from scratch by a consortium of European companies, instead of buying off-the-shelf from the US.
Negotiations between Airbus and its customers, which include Germany, France, the UK and Spain, have been at a standstill for almost a year. Last month, the company threatened to cancel the A400M programme if it could not agree extra funding, saying it could not be allowed to jeopardise the civil aircraft business. 
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