EU to investigate Germany's offer of transitional loans to Opel is illegal

Brussels, June 2 (Xinhua Zhang Bihong) The European Commission 2nd announced that it would check whether the German government's offer of interim loans to Opel was in line with EU regulations. A spokesman for the European Commission, Todd, told the press on the same day that the Committee would check whether the German Government's measures to provide Opel with a € 1.5 billion transition loan were in line with a German corporate bailout plan approved in February. The Inspectors contacted the Government of Germany on 2nd and were expected to receive detailed information on the issue of transitional loans within a few days.　　He said the verification will be completed as soon as possible, but progress depends on how quickly the European Commission obtains information from Germany. The European Commission passed a German corporate rescue plan in February.　　Under the plan, the German government could help the credit-distressed companies in the form of investment guarantees or operating capital loans by the end of 2010, but the beneficiaries must have been stranded after July 1, 2008. The German government, Canadian auto parts maker Magna International, GM and the US Treasury reached an agreement May 30 to avert Europe's demise of GM and to keep GM's European companies, such as Opel Motor Corp. Under the deal, Magna will hold a 20% per cent stake in Opel, with a 35% per cent stake in GM and Russia's savings banks, with 10% per cent remaining for Opel employees. Until the deal is completed, Opel's assets are under trusteeship, and the German government will provide a € 1.5 billion transitional loan to keep Opel running.　　GM believes the deal has put Opel out of the shadow of bankruptcy. GM has three major brands in Europe, Opel, Vauxhall and Saab, of which Opel is the largest, mainly operating in Germany. If Opel were to fail, it would be a huge blow to Germany's labour market.