Germany and the Story of the 14 Conditions for State Loans

Opel has longly been in the spotlight, mostly due to its financial instability which led to a bunch of rumors claiming GM Europe, the mother company, is aiming to get rid of the German unit. It appears that speculation is indeed true but before seeking an outside investor, Opel is requesting up to 3.3 billion euros from European governments to survive the crisis and maintain operations.

As we're sure you know from our previous reports, the German government has asked for a detailed survival plan in exchange for state loans. But it seems like the the country actually has 14 conditions that must be met before Opel receives any cent, Autonews wrote.

First of all, GM Europe, who is currently based in Zurich, Switzerland, has been asked to establish a new headquarters in Germany, the aforementioned source wrote citing an internal paper by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, vice-chancellor and foreign minister. Secondly, the European branch of General Motors must mention the place it would pay taxes - isn't it obvious that Germany is the only possible correct answer?

Other requirements are to clearly specify the number of job losses that may occur as part of the reorganization as well as the future of the German production facilities belonging to Opel, Autonews wrote.

Separately, Fiat has been linked with an Opel acquisition, with various sources claiming the Italian automaker is now eying a potential agreement with GM Europe. Fiat's CEO has already confirmed the reports saying that following the strategic alliance his company has formed with Chrysler, Opel is regarded as the "perfect partner" for his European market strategy.

However, there's still a lot to wait to see what happens but, taking into account that Sergio Marchionne travelled to Berlin on Monday to discuss the deal, an agreement might be reached sooner than expected.