Brussels proposes mini-summit over ailing Opel
EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen proposed on Thursday a meeting of all European nations hosting GM plants, particularly the ailing Opel brand, to coordinate their response to the auto crisis.
"I will propose that member states where we have GM sites in Europe should hold an extraordinary meeting," Verheugen said as he arrived for a meeting of EU ministers in charged of competitiveness issues.
That meeting should reflect on "the way we want to react," he added.
GM's difficulties in the United States have had a big impact on its European affiliate Opel which is mainly active in Germany, where it has four factories, but also Belgium, Britain, Poland and Spain.
General Motors also owns Saab, but plans to pull out of the Swedish carmaker.
The auto industry is one of the largest and worst-hit industrial sectors in Europe, where the recession resulted in the weakest sales in 15 years in 2008, with new car registrations plunging eight percent.
Comments