Because the BESSY components were used only as an injector system, the construction of a new main ring was still needed for SESAME. The estimated cost of the ring was $10 million so additional sources of funding were required. On 23 July 2001 a formal proposal supported by the German and French Ministers of Research, and later the Commissioner for Research Philippe Busquin, was submitted to European Commissioner Chris Patten. In October 2001 "chef de cabinet" of Commissioner Patten, Anthony Cary, informed Schopper that an independent evaluation by a panel of international experts was needed. The "Techno-Economic Feasibility Study" was under the guidance of Professor Guy Le Lay of the University of Marseille. The report concluded that the project was promising and would "effectively stimulate scientific activity and cooperation in the Middle East". However, in August 2003, Commissioner Patten stated that "the Commission is not in a position at this stage to provide Community funding to SESAME". In a subsequent meeting arranged between the Jordanian government, SESAME representatives and the EU Commission, the main of contention was the project's energy level. It was claimed that a competitive facility needed a higher energy level. A compromise was reached that the machine should start at 2 GeV, with 2.5 GeV available at a later stage. This would have increased the cost of the ring by another $2 million.