Former Under Secretary of State Stuart E. Eizenstat tells Haaretz in a wide-ranging interview that if Croatia wants to join the democratic body, it must follow rule of law and come to terms with its past. A leading U.S. diplomat and former ambassador to the European Union is calling on the EU to encourage Croatia and Serbia to take responsibility for their roles in the Holocaust before granting them EU membership. "Now is the time for the European Union to exact the maximum amount of leverage," said Stuart E. Eizenstat, a former U.S. under secretary of state, who served as the Clinton administration's special representative on Holocaust-era issues. "Once they're in, the leverage is lost." Eizenstat, who gave a wide-ranging interview to Haaretz while attending the President's Conference in Jerusalem yesterday, noted that Croatia's president, Ivo Josipovic, was also in attendance. He said Josipovic must go beyond his apology, issued last February, for his country's role in the crimes committed against the Jews during the Second World War. He called on him to commence with a restitution program and the formation of an independent commission of international scholars to examine the country's wartime past. "Neither one of those is being done right now with respect to Croatia," said Eizenstat, who has negotiated agreements with Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France and other European countries with regard to restitution of property, compensation for slavery, recovery of looted art and bank accounts, and payment of insurance policies for Holocaust victims. According to the Yad Vashem's website, 30,000 of Croatia's Jews died during the Holocaust - 80 percent of the country's Jewish population. Croatia is expected to gain EU membership next year. Serbia applied for EU membership in 2009 and may be granted entry as early as 2014. Yad Vashem estimates that 14,500 Jews were exterminated in Serbia during the Holocaust. "This is a time to say, 'Look, if you're going to get into a democratic organization with rules of law, you have to demonstrate that the rule of law applies to you as well, and that you're going to find ways to deal with your past,'" said Eizenstat, America's ambassador to the EU from 1993-1996, who accused the EU of not holding Central and Eastern European countries accountable. more-- http://www.haaretz.com/news/feature...aust-roles-says-u-s-diplomat.premium-1.440002
Jews,the gift that keeps on taking-forever;& of course, lets spank Deutschland some more too;just because they are the only country left,smart tonight to have any cash; and have been stupid enough to keep giving till it hurts;and then some.
Even after many decades of abuse from the victors of WWII isn't it amazing that they are productive enough to do this? Germans and Germany really are the best of the West.....
Maybe Germany needs to open a new Concentration Camp for all the Jews who missed out back in the 40's.A new Theme Park called Camp HolyHoax,with Jews as the camp guards(just like to old days).All proceeds going to repay Germany for the billions they are giving the rest of Europe to save them all from what they have done to themselves,but could have avoided 66years ago; if they would have listen to the Germans in the first place.Irony-incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs