Belgium to raise Opel future with Merkel

<div><p>Belgium will raise the restructuring of auto maker Opel at a European Union summit on Thursday amid a row over German state aid, the head of the country's Flanders regional government said.</p><p>"I don't have an agenda for tomorrow but I think it will certainly be a subject for discussion, informally and perhaps formally," Flanders minister-president Kris Peeters told reporters Wednesday.</p><p>He said he had talked earlier with Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, hoping he would pass a message to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.</p><p>An auto plant at Antwerp in Belgium is now seen under threat in the planned sale of Opel by General Motors to a consortium led by Magna International of Canada.</p><p>Speaking after meeting EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, Peeters said a formal complaint for an investigation into allegations that German aid was protectionist was being considered.</p><p>"We are looking into that," he said.</p><p>Officials are still waiting for a series of reports on Magna's planned takeover of GM's European division, which employs 50,000 people in several European countries.</p><p>Peeters said Kroes had promised a "severe" examination of the case and that if she found "political factors" had been at work, "there would be a very strong and very clear conclusion."</p><p>He said Magna had sent him a letter, dated July 29, in which the Canadian auto parts maker said they wanted "to speak about possibilities to save Antwerp, to give other activities" to the plant.</p><p>Belgium has stepped up its offensive against German state aid to Opel's planned new owners, demanding that the slightest hint of protectionism be slapped down by European competition authorities.</p><p>Merkel's government, which faces a general election next weekend, backed Magna's offer as offering the best future for the 25,000 Opel workers in Germany and put up 4.5 billion euros (6.5 billion dollars) in aid.</p><p>Peeters fears that the Opel plant in Antwerp, northern Belgium, which employs around 2,700 people, is to be sacrificed after Magna's co-chief executive Siegfried Wolf said it planned to cut 10,500 jobs.</p><p>GM hopes to sign off on the sale in October, its chief executive Fritz Henderson said Wednesday.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=58943513&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>


Copyright 2009  <a href="http://www.afp.com/english/links/?pid=copyright">AFP Global Edition</a></div></div>


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