Greece has announced
that Germany must pay reparations for damages inflicted on the Greeks during
World War II, a report says.
According to a report published by the New
York Times on October 5, a group of Greek lawmakers stated in an 80-page report
that Berlin owed reparations for those Greeks who died during the world war.
In the report it was mentioned that Germany
also owes a large unpaid loan Athens was forced to give the Nazi state.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says he
has handed the report over to Greece’s Legal Council of State, which is to
decide on the future of the case.
Athens has not yet released the total amount it believes Berlin owes. However, the figure discussed most often as the amount Germany must pay is USD 220 billion, half of the total debt Greece has. In April, a panel set up by the Greek Finance Ministry said that Germany had to pay more than 160 billion euros in reparations to Greece.
Following the announcement, the German daily
Der Spiegel said that Berlin should pay 108 billion euros for the
reconstruction of its damaged infrastructure following the war. Reports also
said that Germany owed Greece 54 billion euros in loans it received during 1942
and 1944.
In July, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble
said his country had to “examine exactly what happened in Greece.” Experts
believe that if Germany pays Greece what it allegedly owes, it would
significantly improve the country’s likelihood of surviving the spiraling
crisis and its crippling debt.
Greece has been dependent on bailout funds
from international rescue loans approved by the troika of international
creditors - the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the
European Central Bank - since May 2010.
(Source: SZH/HSN - presstv.ir)
