Berlin - German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Monday there was no decision in sight yet on state aid for German carmaker Opel, after a meeting with the heads of the ailing General Motors (GM) offshoot.

"No preliminary decision has been made," Guttenberg said.

GM's European head Carl-Peter Forster, Opel's Chief Executive Hans Demant and the head of the Opel workers' council Klaus Peter Franz had jointly presented the minister with Opel's proposed rescue strategy.

Guttenberg added that the government would not be pressured into a decision, and would take its time to evaluate the rescue plan over the coming weeks.

The priority, Guttenberg said, was to make a basic choice that was economically "eligible and worthy of support." The decision, he said, had to make sense from both a business and a conceptual perspective.

Guttenberg announced Monday that he planned to discuss series of issues with GM, to find out in which direction the Detroit-based carmaker was heading.

During a trip to the US scheduled for March, the economics minister was due to speak to the government in Washington.

"One or the other question could depend on the cooperation of the two governments," Guttenberg said.

Opel's rescue strategy proposes to separate the German subsidiary from the ailing GM parent company. Opel and British-based Vauxhall would form a separate European entity, in which both GM and independent investors could participate.

Opel has said the carmaker needs a total of 7 billion euros, of which 3.3 billion euros have been requested from the state. A further 3 billion euros would come from GM, and savings of 1.2 billion euros are further envisaged.

The European Union (EU) Industry commissioner Guenter Verheugen said Monday that the EU could only approve state funding for Opel if there is a long term strategy to rescue the company and secure jobs.

"The commission will test assistance for Opel just as impartially as for any other manufacturer," Verheugen said in a radio interview with Suedwestfunk.

The EU commission is the highest European authority upholding competition within the 27 member states. (dpa)