GM closes Opel in Antwerp, Belgium

A storm of reactions in the European press has arised after the announcement that General Motors that will lock the Opel plant in Antwerp, Belgium a development that was seen as bad news for the European automotive industry. The big question, according to De Standaard, is “what we do for our future, which is now interwoven with the assembly of conventional cars. The Belgian newspaper urged the government to shoulder its responsibilities and force carmakers to shift towards innovation in order to overcome the crisis. “Does the upcoming closure of Opel portend the end of the European car industry?” asks the popular newspaper.

The redundancies in other countries where there are car factories suggests just that, replied the French Les Echos. “The recession and technology combined with the inevitable onslaught of new competitors from Asia are painting the future of European automobile industry with dark colors, he notes. “The case of Belgium should be an example for the German government, which had undertaken to ensure the survival of Opel», says the German Der Tagesspiegel. “Although the Belgian government was ready to save Opel over 500 million, General Motors simply the plant in Antwerp as an option”. Sometimes money is not enough. “This incident indicates the inability of governments to rescue large domestic companies,” observes Libre Belgique.

“In fact it indicates double disability: the inability of politicians to influence the course of events in a globalized economy and on the other hand, the inability to exceed the national interest and meet in a coordinated manner to prompts and blackmail companies “, says the French-speaking newspaper.