Chams issue stirs controversy

Brussels sought to downplay comments by European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, who lumped the claims by the Cham community in Albania along with other disputes in the negotiations between Tirana and Athens, saying the matter was "blown out of proportion."

The Cham community in Albania claim their property was confiscated by the Greek state when they were expelled from northwestern Greece during World War II, but Athens has dismissed their claim, saying they were Nazi collaborators, and does not recognize it as an issue.

Hahn's comments, in response to a question by conservative MEP Maria Spyraki, drew a vehement reaction in Athens and from the lawmaker herself, who described them as "untrue and unhistorical."

"As is known, there is no Cham issue and, as a result thereof, never has it been accepted as a...