FRANKFURT - General Motors does not owe its German unit Opel any cash, Opel's head Hans Demant told German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau's online edition.

Money transactions from the U.S. parent were so far unchanged, the newspaper cited Demant as saying in an article published on Friday.

The statement contradicted comments made recently by Klaus Franz, top labour leader at GM's European operations, of which Opel is a part.

Franz said that Detroit is sitting on over 1 billion euros ($1.25 billion) in fees it owes to Opel, which had dimmed the German carmaker's financial prospects as GM scrambles to get a bailout from the U.S. government.

Opel last week became the first European carmaker to seek a government bailout, asking Berlin to guarantee loans to the tune of 1 billion euros for 2009.

Demant told Wirtschafts Woche magazine in an interview to be published on Monday the German government need not worry that its financial backing could trickle over to GM's coffers.

"Guarantees don't translate into cash flows. They would just be a foundation for loans that we could then obtain," he said.

He also said that Opel is not yet "with its back to the wall" and has only asked for the German government's help in case GM's situation further deteriorates, cutting off its access to fresh funds from the U.S.

A spokesman for Opel said the company still had enough liquidity to last well into 2009, even without loan guarantees and a recovery in the United States.

German govt says cannot confirm CO2 cars deal

BERLIN - A German government spokesman said on Friday he could not confirm that Europe's big four auto making nations had reached an agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

"I believe there has been a narrowing of differences but there is not yet a complete agreement," Thomas Steg told a regular news conference. "I cannot confirm the report that there has been an agreement. The talks are continuing."

On Thursday, Reuters quoted government sources in Berlin and Brussels saying the four countries had reached an agreement after Italy joined a deal between Britain, France and Germany, government sources in Rome and Berlin said.

The European Union executive had proposed cutting carbon dioxide from cars by an average of 18 percent to 130 grams per km by 2012, mindful of U.N. warnings that climate change will bring more droughts, extreme weather and rising sea levels.

It hoped a further 10 grams could be cut by introducing better tyres, fuels and air-conditioning.

Any binding deal must be approved by the European Parliament, and three-way talks between parliament, member states and the Commission are scheduled for Nov. 24.