UPDATE 1-Airbus A400M countries to meet in Berlin-Germany - News

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UPDATE 1-Airbus A400M countries to meet in Berlin-Germany

By: AFX | 16 Nov 2009 | 07:11 AM ET

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BERLIN, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Officials from countries who have ordered the delayed A400M military transporter from European plane maker Airbus will meet in Berlin on Thursday to discuss the matter, the German Defence Ministry said. "On Thursday, the state secretaries from the countries involved in the deal will meet in Berlin," Defence Ministry spokesman Christian Dienst told a regular government news conference on Monday when asked about the deal. "Before a decision is made, anything you read at the moment is rumour, speculation or agenda-setting on the part of others." Airbus parent EADS is in talks to rescue the 20 billion euro ($29.8 billion) contract with seven European nations that ordered the plane: Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey. German daily Financial Times Deutschland reported on Monday that Airbus could split delivery of the A400M into two tranches to avert the collapse of the project. Due to make its maiden flight next month, the A400M airlifter has been delayed by three to four years by engine snags and other industrial problems.

Last week, British and French air chiefs suggested pooling maintenance or even sharing the use of some planes to balance cost increases. FTD cited industry sources as saying France in particular favoured splitting the 180-plane order into two tranches. (Reporting by Gernot Heller and Maria Sheahan; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Dan Lalor) Keywords: EADS A400M/ (dave.graham@reuters.com; +49 30 2888 5217; Reuters Messaging: dave.graham.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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