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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122704494297638531.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
EU Considers Aid for Auto Makers
European officials began lining up behind a European Union-wide aid program for its auto industry, though some officials expressed concerns about breaking EU rules on competition and state aid.
German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs meetings of finance ministers from the euro zone, said in a joint interview with German tabloid Bild published Tuesday that a pan-European response was needed.
France is also considering providing help for the auto industry with its EU partners and the European Investment Bank, French government spokesman Luc Chatel said.
But the EU's competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said Tuesday that the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, wants to make sure that national measures taken by car-producing countries don't put some car makers at an advantage.
The European Commission and the European Investment Bank are already working on a financial-aid package for auto makers to develop more environmentally friendly cars. The package is due to be presented at the next meeting of EU finance ministers, on Dec. 1.
Ms. Kroes warned that European governments' massive bailouts of the financial sector should be considered exceptional. "You can't compare the car industry with the financial sector -- it's different," Ms. Kroes said. "The financial sector is the blood circulation of the whole economy; if your financial system is not working anymore, it is over," she said.
The German government has held talks this week about possible liquidity guarantees of more than €1 billion ($1.27 billion) for car maker Opel, a European unit of General Motors Corp. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that a final decision would be taken in late December.
Ms. Kroes said Tuesday that EU authorities are in contact with Berlin over the German government's possible aid for Opel. She added that it is too soon to say how the EU would react to any aid plan that emerges.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Monday that aid to the industry should be considered on a national and Europe-wide basis, after auto makers, including Renault SA, were reportedly planning heavy production cuts because of falling demand.
Rescue efforts for European car makers come as the U.S. is debating $25 billion in aid for its Big Three auto makers, GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
National approaches won't be sufficient in dealing with the situation, Mr. Juncker said. "Real solutions can only take place on a European level," he told Tuesday's Bild newspaper. "If the U.S. government rescues Ford, GM and Chrysler from a bankruptcy with billions of dollars, then we can't simply watch and leave producers in Europe alone."
German government adviser and economist Peter Bofinger said Germany should nationalize Opel and sell it in better times. That would ensure that aid for Opel remains an isolated case, rather than triggering requests for aid by other German car makers, Mr. Bofinger told German newspaper Münchner Merkur. So far, however, German policy makers haven't proposed such a step.
Write to Gabriele Parussini at [email protected] and Andrea Thomas at [email protected]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122704494297638531.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
EU Considers Aid for Auto Makers
European officials began lining up behind a European Union-wide aid program for its auto industry, though some officials expressed concerns about breaking EU rules on competition and state aid.
German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs meetings of finance ministers from the euro zone, said in a joint interview with German tabloid Bild published Tuesday that a pan-European response was needed.
France is also considering providing help for the auto industry with its EU partners and the European Investment Bank, French government spokesman Luc Chatel said.
But the EU's competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said Tuesday that the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, wants to make sure that national measures taken by car-producing countries don't put some car makers at an advantage.
The European Commission and the European Investment Bank are already working on a financial-aid package for auto makers to develop more environmentally friendly cars. The package is due to be presented at the next meeting of EU finance ministers, on Dec. 1.
Ms. Kroes warned that European governments' massive bailouts of the financial sector should be considered exceptional. "You can't compare the car industry with the financial sector -- it's different," Ms. Kroes said. "The financial sector is the blood circulation of the whole economy; if your financial system is not working anymore, it is over," she said.
The German government has held talks this week about possible liquidity guarantees of more than €1 billion ($1.27 billion) for car maker Opel, a European unit of General Motors Corp. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that a final decision would be taken in late December.
Ms. Kroes said Tuesday that EU authorities are in contact with Berlin over the German government's possible aid for Opel. She added that it is too soon to say how the EU would react to any aid plan that emerges.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Monday that aid to the industry should be considered on a national and Europe-wide basis, after auto makers, including Renault SA, were reportedly planning heavy production cuts because of falling demand.
Rescue efforts for European car makers come as the U.S. is debating $25 billion in aid for its Big Three auto makers, GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
National approaches won't be sufficient in dealing with the situation, Mr. Juncker said. "Real solutions can only take place on a European level," he told Tuesday's Bild newspaper. "If the U.S. government rescues Ford, GM and Chrysler from a bankruptcy with billions of dollars, then we can't simply watch and leave producers in Europe alone."
German government adviser and economist Peter Bofinger said Germany should nationalize Opel and sell it in better times. That would ensure that aid for Opel remains an isolated case, rather than triggering requests for aid by other German car makers, Mr. Bofinger told German newspaper Münchner Merkur. So far, however, German policy makers haven't proposed such a step.
Write to Gabriele Parussini at [email protected] and Andrea Thomas at [email protected]