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During his recent visit to Berlin, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias placed with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier a number of claims, including several ones related to the German occupation of Greece, namely the payment of reparations, compensation and payment of the occupation loan. Greece had once again received a negative answer, as Berlin reiterated that Germany considered these issues as settled from a legal perspective.

Agreement between two unequal parties

Matthias Hartwig, a lawyer at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public and International Law in Heidelberg, said in an interview with a German radio broadcaster the following:

"Firstly, the question is whether the issue is about reparations. Reparations are paid for damage and destruction caused during a war, they are usually arranged in a contract after the war and the attacking but losing side is required to pay them. In that particular case and with regard to the occupation loan, the Greek side claims that it was not included in the general reparations, and that it was a special loan agreement concluded between the Third Reich and Greece."

The fact that the loan contract, which was interest-free at that, was signed during the occupation between two unequal sides shows, according to the lawyer, that the repayment of the loan was part of restoring war injustices and therefore should occur within the payment of reparations.

The Greek position is partly contradictory

As stated by the international law expert, "the Greek side claims that the case is about a common international agreement that entails certain obligations for the German government or the German state. However, Germany claims the opposite, namely that it was not an ordinary agreement, that Germany was so "evil" that, as an occupying power, it had forced Greece to agree to grant the loan in question, and therefore its repayment was included in the reparations. This has a direct connection with interest rates. The loan contract did not provide for payment of any interest. Now the Greeks are increasing the amount requested, including in it interest rates that were not stipulated in the contract. This means that the Greek position is partly contradictory."

According to Matthias Hartwig, in this context and from a legal point of view, Germany has no obligations to Greece. As he notes, however, the issue is not only purely legal but also political:

"Although I speak as a lawyer, not as a politician, the issue is no longer a legal, but a political one. If you will allow me to express my political opinion on the matter, then I would say that within the context of the global economic crisis in Greece, of course it would be better to be generous than to probe into the past."

Meanwhile, Martin Schulz referred to the rules of the European Parliament to reject the proposal of SYRIZA MEP Manolis Glezos on holding a special session devoted to the German compensation.

"There were statements by leaders of political parties that Greece was raising the question of German reparations in vain. However, these statements do not reflect all points of view in the European Parliament, and they have not been discussed in a plenary session", stressed Manolis Glezos, adding however that "the issue of German reparations exists and it is legally and economically grounded." The President of the European Parliament cited the regulations for the functioning of the institution to specify that such a request could not be accepted at this time. He added, however, that there could be a debate on German reparations in the plenary hall if the signatures of 40 MEPs supporting the request were collected, or if president of the European United Left Gabi Zimmer asked for it.