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GREECE TO PURSUE CLAIM FOR REPARATIONS FROM GERMANY OVER WWII
April 24, 2013 - 15:58 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Greece is planning to pursue a long-dormant claim
for reparations from Germany over World War Two, a further strain on
relations with Berlin, which foots most of the bill for its 240-billion
euro rescue, Reuters reported.
The Finance Ministry has compiled a report that takes stock of all
relating available documents spanning more than six decades, Greek
Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos told parliament on Wednesday,
April 24.
It will be submitted to Greece's legal advisers and then Athens will
decide how to officially press its claim, he said.
Avramopoulos did not say how much would be sought.
"We will exhaust every means available to arrive to a result," he
told lawmakers. "One can't compare the times, but also not erase
the memories."
Germany, whose forces occupied Greece in World War Two, says it has
already paid all reparations owed.
The issue has resurfaced since last year as Greece suffers under
austerity measures imposed on it by its creditors, mainly Germany,
as a condition for its international EU/IMF bailout. Avramopoulos
said it was wrong to link the issue to the debt crisis.
"This has been an open issue for 60 years, it is too large an issue
to fit into the confines of the fiscal crisis," he said.
Greece's fragile coalition government has so far earned praise from
Chancellor Angela Merkel for starting to fix Greece's finances.
But conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was pushed to raise
the reparation issue by the main opposition, anti-bailout Syriza party.
April 24, 2013 - 15:58 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Greece is planning to pursue a long-dormant claim
for reparations from Germany over World War Two, a further strain on
relations with Berlin, which foots most of the bill for its 240-billion
euro rescue, Reuters reported.
The Finance Ministry has compiled a report that takes stock of all
relating available documents spanning more than six decades, Greek
Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos told parliament on Wednesday,
April 24.
It will be submitted to Greece's legal advisers and then Athens will
decide how to officially press its claim, he said.
Avramopoulos did not say how much would be sought.
"We will exhaust every means available to arrive to a result," he
told lawmakers. "One can't compare the times, but also not erase
the memories."
Germany, whose forces occupied Greece in World War Two, says it has
already paid all reparations owed.
The issue has resurfaced since last year as Greece suffers under
austerity measures imposed on it by its creditors, mainly Germany,
as a condition for its international EU/IMF bailout. Avramopoulos
said it was wrong to link the issue to the debt crisis.
"This has been an open issue for 60 years, it is too large an issue
to fit into the confines of the fiscal crisis," he said.
Greece's fragile coalition government has so far earned praise from
Chancellor Angela Merkel for starting to fix Greece's finances.
But conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was pushed to raise
the reparation issue by the main opposition, anti-bailout Syriza party.