BERLIN IS growing impatient with German carmaker Opel and its embattled US parent General Motors over their failure to come up with a convincing restructuring plan – a condition for the state aid they are seeking.

A meeting yesterday between top GM executives including chief operating officer Fritz Henderson, GM Europe president Carl-Peter Forster, and head of Opel, Hans Demant, with economics minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg brought little progress, a Berlin insider said.

Mr Guttenberg said there were “many questions that need to be cleared up”, adding that a decision about whether to grant state aid – Opel has requested €3.3 billion – would take “weeks”.

German chancellor Angela Merkel this week complained about the plan’s lack of detail. Finance minister Peer Steinbrück said the restructuring plan was “not a reliable basis for a decision”.

“Our impression is that Opel has not freed itself from GM’s influence and that it is not being serious about becoming more autonomous as a business,” the insider said, confirming that Mr Guttenberg and Ms Merkel were losing patience with the firms.

Berlin has refused to assist Opel without cast-iron guarantees that the money will not flow to GM or be lost in the wake of a GM insolvency. Officials say Opel’s restructuring suggestions so far have failed to provide this guarantee.

The government suspects GM has provided some of Opel’s patents as collateral to the US Treasury in exchange for financial assistance. Berlin therefore doubts Opel would be shielded against a GM insolvency.

GM has warned that without aid from several states it could run out of cash as early as next month, endangering up to 300,000 jobs. – ( Financial Timesservice)