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Brown also said he had talked to a top GM executive in the last few days.

GM Europe submitted a rescue plan for Opel last month under which the German unit and GM's UK-based Vauxhall unit would be partly spun off into a new subsidiary. It said the independent unit would need 3.3 billion euros ($4.27 billion) in state aid.

Asked if he had discussed the aid request in weekend talks with Merkel, Brown said: "Obviously the chancellor and I discussed the problems that the car industries have in every country ... but we didn't discuss specifically any figures and wouldn't do that."

"I have talked to the president of GM in the last few days," Brown said.

His office could not immediately say if he was referring to GM's worldwide president, Fritz Henderson, or GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster.

Brown pointed out that the European Commission recently gave Britain permission to guarantee up to 2.3 billion pounds ($3.23 billion) in loans to its car industry.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, speaking at the news conference with Brown, said the European Commission had recently issued guidelines on state aid to the car industry.

"Now it's up to the (EU) member states to decide if they want to use, or not, these instruments and then we will assess those specific plans. But we need to see them first," he said.

"But there are now guidelines that provide very ample room for action if needed," he said.

German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who is set to hold talks with GM and U.S. government representatives, said on Sunday that GM Europe's rescue plan for Opel left too many questions unanswered.

Merkel has said that any decision on German government help for Opel depended on decisions the U.S. administration made on aid to the carmaker's parent, General Motors. (Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Kate Kelland)