MACEDONIA

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But Mr Pangalos accused Italy of being more inaccurate with its financial statistics, and said Germany should not criticise Athens because it had wrecked the Greek economy and slaughtered thousands during the Nazi occupation.

"They took away the gold that was in the Bank of Greece, they took away Greek money, and they never gave it back. This is an issue that has to be faced sometime in the future," he added.

More than 300,000 Greek civilians died from starvation during World War II, while thousands more were killed in reprisals. The economy was crippled, as foreign trade was suspended, agricultural output ground to a halt, and the treasury had to lend Germany money.

Germany paid Greece about 115m Deutschemarks in 1960 to compensate victims of Nazi persecution, but it has refused more recent demands for further funds. However, some Greeks say the compensation did not cover civilian victims of reprisals and the loan.

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BBC.CO.UK