Speaker moots committee for war reparations

Parliament Speaker Zoe Constantopoulou on Monday submitted a proposal for the re-establishment and upgrade of a House committee whose purpose would be to examine Greece?s claims to Second World War reparations from Germany.

In her proposal, which is expected to be debated in Parliament on Tuesday, Constantopoulou noted that the committee would continue collecting and organizing historical material related to Greece?s case. She also said that it would be contacting with parliaments across Europe, the European Parliament as well as other international institutions which have dealt with similar cases. The committee, in which Constantopoulou is set to participate, is also expected to organize conferences and lectures in order to raise awareness on the subject.

Meanwhile, speaking to German media on Monday, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias noted that Germany had come up with a ?splendid arrangement? with regard to the country?s external debts in the London Debt Agreement of 1953, adding that Greece should not be facing worse conditions to pay off its own debts than those set out for Germany after the country had lost an ?entire war.?