Plassnik: "Victims of National Socialism to receive payments from General Settlement Fund as quickly as possible"
25.05.2005
Foreign Minister welcomes agreement between General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism and Jewish Community of Vienna
Vienna, 25 May 2005 - "I welcome the resolution to make 18.2 million euro available to the Jewish Community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde or IKG)", said Foreign Minister Plassnik today in response to the agreement reached between the Board of Trustees of the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism and the Jewish Community of Vienna. This resolution had been passed with a particular view to the interests of the surviving victims of National Socialist injustice, said the Foreign Minister, adding that the Jewish Community of Vienna will now withdraw the claims it submitted to the General Settlement Fund.
"It is my great concern that elderly victims receive payment before the end of their lifetime", said Plassnik. "Another significant aspect of this resolution is that the IKG and the Federal Government will jointly advocate a swift settlement of the claims".
The resolution could make an essential contribution to ensuring that the legal certainty required for payments from the General Settlement Fund is now quickly established", the Foreign Minister went on. The only thing now standing in the way of the establishment of legal certainty, and thus payment, is a collective legal suit filed in the USA. Following the agreement now reached the IKG will discontinue its support for this suit and withdraw from the related legal proceedings.
"Already at this juncture further consideration should be given to how payments to the claimants can be made as quickly as possible", added Plassnik. "Even though all claims have not yet been assessed, I am in favour of giving immediate consideration to possible ways and means of realising advance payments to entitled persons".
