2nd UPDATE: GM Executives Discuss European Econ Woes With EU Mins

General Motors Corp. (GM) executives held talks in Brussels Friday with European Union economic and industry ministers as they try to avoid a meltdown of the car giant's European activities.

Participants agreed "to ensure that no national measures should be taken without prior information and coordination with other involved countries," the commission said in a statement after the meeting. No immediate, precise response to GM's crisis was expected.

GM's chief operating officer Fritz Henderson, and GM's Europe Chief Executive Carl-Peter Forster attended the discussions along with ministers from Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.K.

No further details were available as participants agreed on confidentiality. However, German Industry Ministry official Jochen Homann said after the meeting that it was clear everyone had the same questions for GM.

The E.U.'s Industry and Enterprise Commissioner Gunter Verheugen has said GM hasn't given clear information on its plans for the European businesses. General Motors' European division includes Opel, Vauxhall and Saab. E.U. countries with GM car plants fear restructuring plans could lead to many thousands of job cuts and even trigger social unrest.

Opel and Vauxhall need a total of 3.3 billion euros in aid, while Saab needs EUR500 million from the Swedish government to survive, GM officials have said.

GM itself has received a $13.4 billion bailout from the U.S. government and is seeking more.

Opel and Saab might push for around 7,600 job cuts as part of a restructuring plan to receive state aid and stave off insolvency, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires.

The German government is looking for investors for Opel, but nothing can happen without answers from GM on Opel's future, it has said.

-By Alessandro Torello, Dow Jones Newswires; 32-2-741-14-88; [e-mail]