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EUROPE

Germany making disputed Nazi war payments to over 2,000 people

Germany is still making payments to more than 2,000 people worldwide under a law that provides for "war victims", including those who collaborated with the World War II Nazi regime.

Germany making disputed Nazi war payments to over 2,000 people
Hitler in the Reichstag on May 4th, 1941. Photo: Deutsches Bundesarchiv/WikiCommons

Official data from the Labour Ministry showed that 2,033 people benefited from such payments in February.

Under the definition of the law, beneficiaries include individuals who suffered health problems from military or related service or internment because of their German citizenship or ethnicity during World War II.

SEE ALSO: Lawmakers call for end of pension payments to Nazi collaborators

Most of the beneficiaries live in Europe, with the highest number in Poland, where 573 are still receiving payments.

Other European countries with significant numbers of beneficiaries include Austria with 101, Slovenia with 184 and Croatia with 71.

In the Americas, 250 beneficiaries live in the US while 121 are in Canada.

Such payments came under scrutiny after Belgian lawmakers demanded that they be withdrawn for a handful of residents there.

Paying pensions for “collaboration in one of the most murderous regimes in history is in contradiction with collective remembrance” and against the values of the European Union, said the lawmakers, in a legislative text adopted on Tuesday.

To qualify for the payment, the individual must be able to prove an injury arising from WWII. He or she must not have been convicted for war crimes.

The law first came into force in 1950. But after it emerged that some former Waffen SS troops were also drawing benefits, an amendment was passed in 1998 blocking individuals who have commited crimes against humanity from receiving it.

Since 2008, however, individual German states which are responsible for making the payments are allowed to withdraw them.

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EUROPE

Brussels warns Italy to rein in public spending amid pandemic

Most EU member states should continue to invest to support the continent's economic recovery, but heavily-indebted Italy should rein in public spending, the European Commission warned on Wednesday.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi expects the country's GDP to recover in the coming year. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino / POOL / AFP

“The economy is bouncing back from the recession, driven by a rebound in demand across Europe,” EU executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis said.

“But we are not out of the woods yet. The economic outlook remains riddled with uncertainty,” he said, warning that the coronavirus is still spreading, prices are rising and supply chains face disruption.

Despite these unpredictable threats, European officials predict a strong recovery, and want eurozone governments to maintain their “moderately supportive fiscal stance” to support investment.

EXPLAINED: How Italy’s proposed new budget could affect you

Italy, however, remains a worry. Its public debt passed 155 percent of its GDP last year, and Brussels is worried that it is still budgeting to spend too much next year.

“In order to contribute to the pursuit of a prudent fiscal policy, the Commission invites Italy to take the necessary measures within the national budgetary process to limit the growth of nationally financed current expenditure,” the commission report said.

The commission did not say by how much Italy’s spending plans should be reduced, and its recommendation is not binding on the government.

The European Union suspended its fiscal discipline rules last year, allowing eurozone members to boost their public spending to help their economies survive the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the European commissioner for the economy, former Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni, said governments should now “gradually pivot fiscal measures towards investments”.

“Policies should be differentiated across the euro area to take into account the state of the recovery and fiscal sustainability,” he said.

“Reducing debt in a growth-friendly manner is not necessarily an oxymoron.”

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, has said Italy’s economy is recovering after the pandemic-induced recession.

Draghi forecast economic growth this year of “probably well over six percent” in a statement on October 28th.

Italy’s GDP rate grew by 2.6% in the third quarter of 2021.

While economists don’t expect Italian GDP to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels until 2022, ratings agency Standard & Poor has revised its outlook for Italian debt from stable to positive.

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