EU industry commissioner, Günter Verheugen, has said that it would be up to the German government alone to decide whether to give guarantees to Opel in the event of its parent company’s bankruptcy.
Vehicle manufacturers have also been asking the EU Commission for financial support, but Verheugen told a German radio station this weekend that there will be no direct financial help for the automotive industry. “The only thing that is under discussion is an extension of credit lines from the European Investment Bank,” he said.
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Any support for Opel would be up a purely national question, and would simply about helping Opel through a difficult period. “That has absolutely nothing to do with the automotive industry overall,” he said.” Any guarantees from the German government, would nevertheless need to comply with European Union law on state aid and the Commission would look closely at any agreement to make sure it did comply.
Opel employee representatives are calling for openness in discussions about a way forward for the company. The basis for agreements on shorter working hours, for example, must be a transparent business model for Europe, said Opel’s works council chief, Klaus Franz.
Senior GM Europe executives continue to deny that GM is on the verge of bankruptcy. “GM is not broke,” Carl-Peter Forster told the Welt am Sonntag.
