Airbus A400M partners reach agreement: program to continue

Spain said the seven European nations financing the A400M turboprop transport plane have reached a compromise in the battle to finance the unexpectedly expensive military transport plane. A tentative agreement has been reached in the fight over additional financing for the much-delayed military transport plane A400M, the Spanish defense minister said on Wednesday. "We reached an agreement in principle between the seven nations in the project and EADS," said Carme Chacon, referring to the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, parent company of A400M manufacturer Airbus. "The Airbus project will be a success for Europe." Chacon did not give any details as to how the countries would resolve the financing dispute surrounding the late and over-budget project, but added that more information would be released on Thursday, following an EU defense meeting in Mallorca. The announcement is the latest in the ongoing saga of Europe's much delayed Airbus project. The EADS has been trying for months to secure the future of the A400M turboprop transport plane, haggling with the seven countries that ordered the planes over who should pay for the costly overruns that have put the program almost four years behind schedule.