Auseinandersetzung über Opel Verkauf [en] 

The two-front skirmish posed headaches for Canadian automotive supplier Magna and its Russian allies in what has become a politically fraught deal to build loss-making Opel into a power on global car markets.

"State support should not be subject to non-commercial conditions such as the location of investments and restructuring measures," Commissioner Neelie Kroes was quoted on Saturday as telling Belgian newspaper De Tijd. "If something happens against the rules, I will take action," she said.

Magna has said it could close factories in Antwerp in Belgium and Luton in the UK if it has no luck luring new contracts to make use of their capacities.

German weekly Der Spiegel said the European Commission had discovered that the Antwerp plant works more efficiently than another in Bochum in Germany, which would make it hard to justify saving the German plant if Antwerp gets axed.

Belgian Foreign Minister Yves Leterme complained that the German government had not invited a Belgian to a meeting scheduled for Tuesday (15 September) to discuss state aid to Opel factories across Europe.

Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt told Reuters he had asked European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to ensure that the deal did not favour Germany over other countries hosting GM plants, like Belgium and the UK.

The issue will come up again today (14 September) when the European Parliament debates the Opel transaction at the request of Verhofstadt, the leader of the Liberal group in the European Parliament, the EU assembly's third-largest.

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes and Industry Commissioner Verheugen are expected to attend.

"Financial aid given by a country that guarantees that the factories in their country don't close is against EU rules," Verhofstadt said, complaining that the European Commission should have run the Opel negotiations instead of Germany.

GM agreed this week to sell a 55% stake in Opel to Magna and Russia's Sberbank, finally bowing to Berlin's wishes after months of intense talks. 

Its decision to pick Magna over rival RHJ, a Belgian financial investor, was a political boon to Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of an election on 27 September. Merkel had loudly backed Magna's bid and promised state aid to clinch it (EurActiv 25/08/09).

Her government is putting up €4.5 billion euros in state guarantees to grease a deal it hopes will preserve jobs in Germany, where half of Opel's workforce is based.

Other European countries including the UK, Belgium and Spain are expected to contribute to the aid, but amounts have not yet been set as they await details of where plants and jobs will go.

Magna's original plan called for cutting around 10,000 of Opel's 50,000 workers, with 2,500 cuts earmarked in Germany.

Bochum works council head Rainer Einenkel told the Welt am Sonntag paper that Opel workers, set to take a 10% stake in the new Opel, would demand a big say over how things are run.

"We are prepared to make a contribution worth more than a billion euros. We are demanding in return a veto right over job cuts, transfer of production or plant closures," he said.

(EurActiv with Reuters.)