Belgium opted not to back either Arcelor or its unwanted suitor Mittal Steel for now, according to a joint statement from the federal and two regional governments on Monday.
"Arcelor's independence plan as it has been currently proposed by the management of Arcelor constitutes a credible strategy based on the development of high added-value products," the governments said in a statement.
"The strategy of Mittal represents a credible industrial project based on a global vision," the statement also said, referring to a report conducted on behalf of the Belgian governments by Lazard.
The statement followed a meeting of Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and the presidents of Belgium's two regions - Elio Di Rupo of southern French-speaking Walloonia and Yves Leterme of the Flemish-speaking north of the country.
Belgium's Walloon region, which holds a 2.3 percent stake in Arcelor, has yet to decide whether it will sell its shares to Mittal Steel, which plans to launch a hostile offer worth about 20 billion euros for its rival this week.
"We will decide towards the end of the offer," Di Rupo told reporters after the meeting.
Neither Belgium nor Flanders have stakes in Arcelor, although both take an interest in the company as a merger could affect jobs and investment in the country.
It remained unclear whether the three Belgian governments would issue a further statement in the coming weeks backing either Arcelor or Mittal.
"This is not the end of the saga," Di Rupo said. Arcelor, the world's number two steelmaker, has consistently resisted the advances from global sector leader Mittal. It said on Friday it would ask its shareholders to approve a 5 billion-euro ($6.45 billion) share buyback to thwart Mittal's take-over plan.
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