UPDATE 1-Fiat CEO says will present Opel plan on May 20

* to present plan for Opel by May 20 deadline

* to run Chrysler until it is restarted

* meeting with Italy government, unions planned (Adds CEO comments, background)

TURIN, Italy, May 15 - Fiat <FIA.MI> will present its plan for the Opel European operations of General Motors Corp <GM.N> on May 20, the deadline set by Germany, the Italian car maker's chief executive officer, Sergio Marchionne, said on Friday.

"The plan is ready. We'll present it on May 20," Marchionne said on the sidelines of a presentation. [ID:nL7189655]

Turning to U.S. car maker Chrysler, in which Fiat has agreed to take a 20 percent stake, Marchionne said he would run it for a short time to get it restarted.

He added there would be a meeting with Italian unions and the Rome government when clear ideas emerged on what would happen over the European plans.

"We are trying to synchronize our calendars. There will be a meeting for sure," Marchionne said.

"The game is at a European level and you have to play at that level. When it's done, we will go to Rome and we will talk to all the parties," Marchionne added.

Fiat wants to create the world's second-biggest car maker by putting Chrysler together with the Opel European operations of General Motors.

Its U.S. plans have been agreed upon, with Chrysler receiving Fiat's help to make smaller, more environmentally friendly cars in return for which the Italian company gets equity.

But in Europe, it is competing with at least one other bidder for Opel -- auto parts maker Magna <MGa.TO>.

And it has come up against union opposition to plant closures and job losses, with a demonstration planned in its Turin home base on Saturday. [ID:nLD438560]