EU: European Commission wants to prevent General Motors to start “racing for subsidies” among the States

Informal meeting. New round in the Opel case: an informal meeting will be held on Monday, November 23 at the European Commission, with the European Ministers for Economic Affairs and General Motors representatives to discuss about the case of the European subsidiary of the American carmaker. This meeting is presented as an informal gathering to talk and exchange information. Very surprisingly, GM announced, earlier this month, that it didn’t want to sell Opel to the Canadian car part maker Magna. However, this was the solution defended by unions and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was planning a major subsidy to help the company’s restructuring in Germany. The German subsidy angered other countries where Opel is present – Belgium, Spain and the UK –, afraid that Berlin’s intervention to save German job would lead to closing other European sites.
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

the Canadian car part maker Magna. However, this was the solution defended by unions and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was planning a major subsidy to help the company’s restructuring in Germany. The German subsidy angered other countries where Opel is present – Belgium, Spain and the UK –, afraid that Berlin’s intervention to save German job would lead to closing other European sites.

Economic criteria. Yet, the issue of aids to restructuring is still a major problem between the Member

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
United Kingdom: trade unions can now use electronic and workplace voting
The news. The provisions of the UK Employment Rights Act 2025 authorising electronic and workplace voting for trade union ballots came into force on Tuesday, 25 August. They apply to trade union...
Netherlands: Uber fined over 800 million euros for automated algorithmic decisions
The news. In a decision dated 17 August, the Dutch Data Protection Authority fined ride-hailing company Uber €825 million for automating decisions regarding driver account deactivations. The...
Portugal: open consultation on the transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive
The news. On 5 August 2026, the Portuguese government published a document proposing a draft text to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive as the basis for a public consultation open until...
EU: the Commission will set up an Expert Group on the impact of AI in the world of work
The news. On 22 July 2026, the European Commission published a progress report on the EU-27’s achievements regarding the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights, reinforced by the...