The Greek parliament voted on Wednesday to launch a diplomatic campaign to press Germany to cough up billions of euros in damages for the Nazi occupation of the country in World War Two, an issue Berlin says was settled long ago.
“THIS CLAIM IS OUR HISTORIC DUTY”
Greece suffered hugely under Nazi German rule and a parliamentary commission in 2016 put the cost at more than 300 billion euros, though Wednesday’s proposal – backed by both ruling coalition and opposition lawmakers – mentioned no figure.
The vote, the first official decision by parliament on the emotive reparations issue, is likely to further strain ties with Germany, blamed by many Greeks for painful austerity measures imposed in return for bailout loans during its financial crisis.
The proposal, which comes ahead of national elections due in October, calls on the government to take “every appropriate legal and diplomatic action to satisfy Greece’s demands”.
“This claim is our historic and moral duty,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said at the end of a nearly 12-hour debate. “To build a better future we need to close the open cases of the past and Germany needs to do the same,” he said, adding that Athens would raise the issue diplomatically with Berlin.