Germany's government is proposing to create a trust to run Opel for up to six months using a EUR1.5 billion-EUR1.8 billion government bridge loan, European Union ministers said Friday, after a meeting in Brussels to discuss the fate of the troubled European subsidiary of General Motors Corp. (GM).

The trust would be made up of five people: two from GM America, two from the German government and one independent representative, ministers said. The trust would run Adam Opel GmbH until its buyer takes over, they said.

Canadian auto parts giant Magna International Inc. (MGA) now appears to be favored over Fiat (F.MI) to buy Opel, Italian industry minister Claudio Scajola said.

-By Alessandro Torello and Matthew Dalton, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 1488; alessandro.torello@dowjones.com