Response from France and UK:. .. .Handelsblatt.com:. .. .Germany's Partners Wait Patiently for Military Airbus Decision. .. .HB/sms BERLIN/LONDON. Germany's decision to prolong the uncertainty over its procurement of Airbus A400M military transport planes by postponing a crucial parliamentary-committee vote on the subject met with measured responses from its key partners in the eight-nation project. . .. .An official from the orbit of France's defense minister, Alain Richard, said it was highly regrettable that the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder would be unable to keep its promise to get parliament to approve the funding of its share of the project by the end of March. But he said if it proves necessary to leave part of the decision to the next parliament, that will be acceptable, provided that the project is not in doubt. . .. .Still, a certain amount of frustration was palpable in some of the official's comments. "Since June last year, we've been waiting for a decision from the German parliament. That should be enough time." . .. .Meanwhile, a spokesman from the British Ministry of Defence told Handelsblatt that collaboration between London and Berlin remains constructive. He stressed the need for the A400M project to stand on a firm footing. Britain would hold firm to the joint Airbus project, but it would insist on a binding commitment from Germany. . .. .The question of whether Germany is actually able to give a binding commitment is central to the debate surrounding approval of its consignment of 73 A400M planes. This is the largest order from any single country, and if Germany proves unable to see it through, the whole project will almost certainly collapse. . .. .The German parliament has approved the setting aside of 5.1 billion euros from the 2002 budget for 40 planes. That leaves 3.5 billion euros to cover the remaining 33 planes, and this sum is to be included in the 2003 budget.. .. .The Defense Ministry had applied for the 5.1 billion euros to be freed up from the 2002 budget for the procurement of the first tranche of 40 planes. This was to be voted on by the parliamentary budget committee on Wednesday. But the government decided to put back the vote by one week to address concerns by the Greens, junior partner in the country's Social Democrat-led coalition. Since Green members on the committee had said they would vote against freeing up the money, the application looked set to be thrown out. . .. .The government now plans to present a supplementary declaration to the Defense Ministry's application. Volker Kröning, the Social Democratic Party's budget expert with special responsibility for defense, said that the declaration would not be ready before Monday or Tuesday, but it would be fully agreed with Germany's partners in the A400M project. . .. .Budget expert Oswald Metzger, one of three Greens on the committee, said if his vote was to be won, Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping would have to withdraw the letter he signed as a supplement to the procurement contract. And coalition insiders said Germany would be negotiating a new document with its partners, and this document would replace the letter. . .. .Under the terms of this letter, Germany will face legal claims from its partners in the eight-nation project if it fails to take its full share of 73 of the military transporters. The letter specifies that any reduction in Germany's order will give rise to "economic damage" for which Germany will become liable. Germany's partners insisted on the supplementary letter because parliamentary approval still had to be sought for the 3.5 billion euros needed to finance the second tranche of the country's order. . .. .The Federal Audit Court has criticized the supplementary letter because it effectively removes the decision-making power from parliament. This view is shared by the three Green budget experts. "What kind of understanding is it of the parliamentary process if the only choice left to parliament is whether to spend billions on aircraft or on meeting claims for damages?" Metzger has asked.