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BERLIN (Dow Jones)--German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Monday he is entering talks with Fiat SpA's (F.MI) chief executive with a "very open" attitude and hopes to hear more details on the company's plans for General Motors Corp.'s (GM) German unit.
Speaking to reporters ahead of his meeting with Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, zu Guttenberg said: "I expect to get more details than at the last meeting, when a very rough plan was presented. I hope that the talks with General Motors have made more progress."
"It is decisive whether they will be able to find an agreement with General Motors," he added. "We are hoping to learn more details on this."
He added that the government will stick to its criteria for possible help for Opel.
The government has said it is considering possible state guarantees for Opel, but is demanding a long-term, feasible plan for the company.
The minister has already said he doesn't expect any deal from Monday's meeting with Marchionne in Berlin, which Chancellor Frank-Walter Steinmeier is also set to attend. Zu Guttenberg will brief the press afterwards at around 1230 GMT.
Marchionne is aiming to rally support for his plan to seek a potential merger between Fiat and GM's European operations, including Opel and its U.K. unit Vauxhall.
Marchionne signed a partnership with Chrysler LLC in Washington last week.
Austrian-Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. (MGA) is also interested in Opel.
Web site: www.bmwi.de
-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; 49-30-288-8410; andrea.thomas@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2009 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT) | 
