<br/>The United States has agreed to extend the bidding period for a lucrative military contract that would strengthen relations between Washington and its European allies. Pentagon said it would give the Airbus parent company EADS 60 extra days to compete for the contract.<br/><br/>The 35-billion dollar contract to build a huge refueling plane for the US military has been mired in controversy ever since a European consortium of EADS and Northrop Grumman pulled out of the bidding. They said the rules favoured the American company Boeing. But French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he has been assured by President Obama that the bidding process would be fair and transparent.