Brussels, 15/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament was somewhat sceptical, on Monday 14 September, about the European Commission's position on Magna and Sberbank's takeover of car manufacturer Opel (see EUROPE 9976). Social Affairs and Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla spoke of the persistent problems in the motor car industry, which saw new car registrations fall by 20% at the end of 2008 (and by 11% in the spring). Scrapping schemes have done little to salve the difficulties. The situation for heavy goods vehicles is catastrophic. It was the industry itself that has to get itself back on its feet, Spidla said, although, under certain conditions, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and governments could offer assistance to help remedy the social consequences of the crisis. In the long term, the solution would come with the development of clean, efficient and safe cars, the commissioner said. He said that, with Opel, the Commission retained its impartial stance with regard to offers, while remaining very firm on state aid, which must not distort competition and on its refusal to allow taxpayers' money to be used for short term political reasons. The word, then, has been said, and many MEPs were happy to re-use it: in the Opel saga, political motives must not win the day over commercial and economic motives.
The Commission, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes then said, ha d kept in touch with all the member states concerned throughout the process which led to this transaction, in particular through informal ministerial meetings on 13 March and 29 May (see EUROPE 9862 and 9900). It also took part in information meetings with General Motors and was aware of the controversies regarding the respective merits of the restructuring plans presented by the different bidders. The Commission was also informed, in relation to public funding for the GM/Magna transaction, of the German government's intention to avail itself of a pre-existing approved scheme under the Commission's Temporary Framework for State Aid measures in the current period of financial crisis. On this point, Kroes is, for the moment, not in a position to be able to say if this scheme can be used in this case, since the deal has not yet been finalised. She repeated, however, that the aid granted under the Temporary Framework cannot be subject, de jure or de facto, to additional conditions relating to the location of investments and/or the geographic distribution of restructuring efforts. She said that this would create unacceptable distortions in the internal market and could trigger a subsidy race which would be significantly damaging to the European economy in the present difficult times. The long-term viability of the company would be put at risk through the application of non-commercial conditions attached to public financing, and failed restructuring would result in great damage to the company and its workers, and would be a waste of taxpayers' money, she added.
These principles, Kroes said, “will guide my assessment in the Opel case”. The Commission will examine not only the legal conditions of the transaction, but also the whole context. “I will be particularly interested to find out whether the German authorities have effectively linked the provision of aid to a single bidder and, if so, to find out why they regarded that bidder's business plan as preferable from an industrial and commercial point of view,” she said. In the short term, “it is a sad fact that … any plan to restore the profitability of Opel/Vauxhall will require job losses across the company. However, a serious restructuring is the only way to ensure viable and stable jobs for the future”. “The Commission cannot and should not try to dictate where such cuts will fall, nor can it try to prevent them”, but “we will however be scrutinising the process carefully to ensure that it is based on commercial considerations, designed to sustain viable jobs, and not protectionist motives,” said Kroes.
MEPs called for the Commission to be quick in making its analysis, with several, including German Werner Langen (EPP) and leader of the ALDE Group Guy Verhofstadt, complaining about the slowness of the reaction. If Magna had not abided by competition rules in this case, it would not necessarily admit it, Verhofstadt said. He called for an investigation to be opened and asked that precise questions be asked of all the countries concerned, especially Germany, the US and Poland. For the Greens/EFA, German Rebecca Harms said that all the manufacturers in all the countries concerned should meet with Germany to try to find solutions for the future, since what is now being proposed for Opel did not present the opportunity for much reflection, about transport in general, including public transport, for example. Opel will not be the last restructuring case, added German Thomas Händel (Die Linke) who argued for state aid to be linked to worker participation and co-decision. Despite the criticism directed at the German government, particularly from the country's opposition elected representatives, several MEPs noted that the matter at issue was not just a German problem, and that it related to valid principles and posed questions for the future. (L.G./transl.rt)