MEPs from ND, PASOK, To Potami under fire for not backing motion over WWII reparations

By Paris Ayiomamitis 

European Parliament parties voted last week against a motion – submitted by Notis Marias of the Independent Greeks at a closed session of the coordinators of the Committee on Petitions –  for a public hearing on the issue of Greek war reparation claims from Germany for damages caused by the Nazi occupation.

According to a statement by the office of Marias, the motion was rejected on October 7 by the European People’s Party (EPP), which includes New Democracy, the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), which includes Pasok and To Potami (The River), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) as well as the Greens(GREENS/ EFA )
The proposal was backed by the European United Left and the European Conservative and Reformists group (ECR), of which Marias is a vice-chairman

Several committee members from Pasok and To Potami reportedly voted down the motion. Syriza MP Michalis Micheloyiannakis issued a statement naming several Greek MEPS that voted against, asking them to explain why.

The petitions committee includes MEPs from Pasok,  the Independent Greeks, Syriza, To Potami, the Greek Communist party(KKE) and Elia (The Olive).

Media reports said Marias then requested that his proposal be put to a roll-call  vote at a Plenary Session of the Committee on Petitions in order to show the public position of each party and MEP on the issue.

His call for the vote was refused but, according to a statement from his office, ‘after much recriminations with its chairman and members, the committee eventually agreed to keep the request for a public hearing, on the issue of German reparations, on its agenda ahead of the public hearings that will be held in the the latter half of 2015.’

“Extreme populism”

New Democracy (ND), the senior partner in the ruling coalition, accused Marias of trying to stir up a fuss and that he never notified any of his Greek colleagues in European Parliament of his intentions and never sought the support or help of any Greek MEP.

In a written statement, ND described European Parliament as a place where ‘serious political debate is conducted’ and not a place of ‘extreme populism for domestic consumption only’.

“Mr Marias filed his petition over the war reparations issue to a committee of minor importance, which registers petitions from EU citizens and which does not include ND MEPs”, the party said.
“The reason is obvious. To stir up a fuss.To gain a minute of fame”.

However local media reports suggest that ND, Pasok and To Potami will still have to answer for the rejection of the motion at the committee’s closed session by the EPP and S&D, of which all three Greek parties are members

Greece has long claimed it has never received full compensation from Germany for its occupation of the country during World War II. This claim got louder after Greece  entered a bailout agreement with international lenders.     

Berlin, which is Greece’s biggest creditor,  has refused to discuss reparations, insisting that matter was closed after it paid 115 million deutsche marks back in 1960, as part of  war compensation agreements it had signed with other countries, including Greece.