Aerospace chief calls for clarity on new transport plane

(MUNICH) - The head of EADS on Saturday called for seven countries that have ordered the Airbus A400M military plane to provide "a clear idea" on the future of the troubled project "by the end of next week."

"We need to have a clear idea, not detailed but clear, on what is happening on the A400M by the end of next week," Louis Gallois, of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

European countries badly need the new transport aircraft, under development at EADS unit Airbus, but the project is three years behind schedule and a reported 11 billion euros (15 billion dollars) over budget.

EADS has threatened to pull the plug unless the seven NATO countries that have ordered 180 of the aircraft for 20 billion euros stump up more cash, saying that the European aerospace sector is at stake.

With the seven countries -- Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey -- holding a series of crisis meetings, French Defence Minister Herve Morin set Thursday a deadline of February 28 to strike a deal.

He also said that he hoped an agreement could be found at the next meeting of European Union defence ministers at the end of February in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Morin said in Turkey that France has urged its partners to stump up an extra 1.5 billion euros on top of two billion euros already envisaged by the seven countries, still short of the 6.4 billion euros that EADS is seeking.