Brussels, 05/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - The Commission announced on Wednesday 5 May that it had adopted a communication which concludes that, in view of substantial overall cost increases for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which have more than doubled the costs for Europe (to around €7.2 billion instead of the initially expected €2.7 billion), a sustainable financial framework should be established. Member states should provide a clear financial commitment throughout the life of the project and a mechanism for dealing with any further overruns should be agreed, subject to an overall cap. In particular, a total of around €1.4 billion is needed to meet the estimated cost increases in the EURATOM Community contribution to ITER in 2012 and 2013. This funding should be found either by raising the ceiling in the EU budget or through additional finance directly from the member states, the Commission says. Costs of the project may also rise in the following years. At the next meeting of the ITER Council, scheduled for mid-June 2010, the international partners will try to reach agreement on the project's “Baseline”, in other words its scope (specifications of the fusion reactor to be built), the schedule (time table for construction) and the cost. (B.C./transl.rt)