EADS, the aerospace and defence company, won a further six-month stay of execution for its overdue and overbudget A400M military transport aircraft after the seven partner nations agreed to renegotiate the contract for the programme.

After a meeting of defence ministers in southern France, the French defence minister said the partners would convene again in October in Germany and that a new contract with EADS, the Franco-German parent of Airbus which is building the aircraft, could be signed by the end of the year.