Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader, wrote to the Commission in early August calling for clarification on the sale of subsidiaries of General Motors' car manufacturing plants across several European states. The subject has gathered in intensity with the announced sale last week of Opel to Magna of Canada with Russian financial backing.

For the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the case is highly political, coming just ahead of federal elections in Germany and arouses suspicions of illegal state aid to keep certain plants operating whilst closing down others. Liberals and Democrats are calling for a thorough Commission examination of compatibility with EU competition rules. Guy Verhofstadt focused his remarks on the rules governing takeovers and state aid amid concerns that there could be a potential distortion of competition in the EU Internal Market: "A European approach to the GM issue would have been better than the individual, national approaches that the various Member States are engaged in now. This is the reason why I am asking the Commission to act in a proactive way in the future."

"There is also a more fundamental question concerning the degree to which the automotive sector is suffering from overcapacity. The challenge for us is to conceive of a genuine industrial policy for this strategic sector, as it did 30 years ago for the steel sector, whilst taking account of the new demands for cleaner, more efficient vehicles."

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis MEP (FDP, Germany) author of Parliament's report last year on CARS21 towards a new regulatory framework for the automotive sector also intervened in today's debate:

"The Opel case is a European matter, not just a German matter. We all wish our enterprises to survive in the current economic climate and to maintain their workforce but we cannot save jobs in one country at the expense of another. The Opel deal signed last week with Magna was not the best on offer and was taken for electoral rather than commercial considerations. The European Commission is right to investigate."

Chris Davies MEP (Lib Dem, UK), ALDE spokesperson on the environment committee and representing the constituency of one of Vauxhall's UK manufacturing plants highlighted the issue of overcapacity and slowness to invest in cleaner technologies:

"European car manufacturers are renowned for their engineering excellence but their record on environmental innovation is shameful. They fought against catalytic converters and resisted reductions in CO2 emissions and alternatives to polluting air coolants. The industry has an obligation to society as a whole and its future prosperity is inextricably linked to environmental improvement."

Ms Izaskun Bilbao Barandica (PNV, Spain) called for full transparency over the financial arrangements behind the Opel deal: "We must not forget the people whose jobs may be threatened by the restructuring plan resulting from Magna's takeover of Opel operations. Innovative labour market policies can avoid unnecessary job losses and provide retraining for future work. State aid must not just prop up failing businesses but guarantee their commercial viability and innovation."

Dirk Sterckx (Open VLD, Belgium) representing the city of Antwerp, the home of one of Opel's manufacturing bases pointed out that "Europeans will be looking to the European Commission to act as an impartial referee. The way the European Institutions act on this matter will be closely scrutinised and will affect the trust that our citizens have in the EU to act in the European interest.