§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 18 July 2001,Official Report, column 259W, if he will make a statement on progress toward resolution of outstanding restitution issues relating to the Holocaust and other victims of Nazi Germany by EU accession candidate countries. [31868]
§ Peter HainThe Government continue to encourage the settlement of Holocaust-era claims in the relevant EU candidate countries. There has been some progress—notably in Poland, where the Prime Minister has announced that a new restitution Bill compensating victims of all nationalities will be brought to Parliament probably next year. Budgetary difficulties have hampered claims settlement in several of the countries concerned, though all the candidate countries emphasise the importance they attach to this process, as we do.