Commission says Benes Decrees should not burden Czech-EU relations
The Enlargement Commissioner, Günter Verheugen, underlines that the issue of the Benes Decrees, that led to the expulsion and expropriation of 2.5 million Germans, as well as Austrians and Hungarians, from Czechoslovakia in 1945, should not burden EU-Czech relations. However, the European Parliament's legal service is investigating whether the Decrees are in conflict with EU law, and the German and Austrian governments insist that the Czech Republic should remove the Decrees from its statute books.
The Enlargement Commissioner, Günter Verheugen, underlines that the issue of the Benes Decrees, that led to the expulsion and expropriation of 2.5 million Germans, as well as Austrians and Hungarians, from Czechoslovakia in 1945, should not burden EU-Czech relations. However, the European Parliament’s legal service is investigating whether the Decrees are in conflict with EU law, and the German and Austrian governments insist that the Czech Republic should remove the Decrees from its statute books.
