EU antitrust chief urges speedy answers on Opel state aid

ERJ staff report (AN)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- The European Union antitrust chief Neelie Kroes today urged EU countries with Opel plants to present details of their proposed state aid for the carmaker to the European Commission as soon as possible.

In a bid to safeguard jobs in Germany, Berlin has promised 4.5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in aid to Opel which is due to be sold to Canadian supplier Magna International Inc., drawing criticism from other EU countries with Opel factories.

Britain and Spain, concerned that this could spell more job losses for their Opel facilities, have written letters to the EU executive questioning the German aid.

"We are asking the question, we are waiting for facts and figures to come to our final approach, the time frame the sooner the better. We are running out of time," Kroes, who is European Competition Commissioner, told the European Parliament.

She said she would not accept a short-term solution and that the Commission would take only commercial considerations into account when deciding whether to approve the proposed state aid.

Jobs 'bribes'

Earlier in her speech to the European Parliament, Kroes said European Union governments should not use massive bailouts of crisis-hit banks as a pretext to rescue other sectors which do not pose a systemic risk.

Since the credit crisis deepened a year ago, EU countries have committed trillions of euros to help banks weather the global crisis, sparking calls from other sectors such as the car sector for state aid too.

Kroes, who last week warned governments against "bribing companies" to preserve jobs, said today there was a clear distinction between financial institutions and other industries.

"We also need to be clear that the financial sector was a special case. The substantial interventions in the financial sector should not be used as an excuse for massive state aid in other sectors," Kroes said.

"This is not because we care more about bankers than workers in other sectors. It is because the financial system is the lifeblood of our whole economic system," she said.

The European Commission and officials from countries with Opel plants will discuss on Oct. 7 Germany's state aid plan, EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said last week.

From Automotive News (A Crain publication)