The issue of reparations from Germany for World War II damages has never been resolved in Greece, according to Artur Lompart, the Polish Ambassador in Athens. In mid-June, the Polish Embassy in Athens, together with Greek partners and the European Organization for Public Law, will organise an international conference on reparations, focusing on the legal aspects of seeking reparations from Germany.
On October 3, 2022, the Polish government sent a note to the German government, officially demanding reparations of approximately €1.3 trillion. A Greek parliamentary committee meanwhile determined that Germany caused at least EUR 289 billion in war damages to Greece.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arkadiusz Mularczyk emphasised the importance of being able to discuss the issue with representatives from parliamentary groups in Berlin’s Bundestag.
The statements are made partly in the context of Central European infrastructural cooperation. Greece was invited to join the Three Seas Initiative, but the Syriza government decided to opt out. Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis however is interested in joint projects in energy and infrastructure, primarily railway and road connections. “Greek ports are closest to the Suez Canal, so Greece’s connections to Central Europe significantly shorten supply chains,” said Lompart.
The Polish Ambassador also emphasised that Greece, like Poland, has always believed that every state has the right to decide its own future and that the territorial integrity of states is inviolable. “Greece has supported Ukraine from the beginning of the Russian invasion, partly because direct military actions affected the regions where the Greek diaspora in Ukraine, consisting of 150,000 people, lived,” he said.
