RUMANIA’S ECONOMY

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 September 1946, Page 5

RUMANIA’S ECONOMY

SEARCHING QUESTIONS ASKED AT PARIS COMPENSATION- PROPOSALS (Rec. 10.45 a.m.) PARIS, Sept. 22. At the Paris Conference in the Balkans Economic Committee members subjected the Rumanian delegate, the Under- Secretary of State for Communications, Mr Maurer, to a searching cross-examination on the country’s economic position. He was ased to substantiate Rumania’s appeal against the United States proposal that Rumania pay full compensation to United Nations pioperty owners for damaged' property. Britain and France agreed, but Russia disagreed with the proposal in the draft treaty discussions. Mr Maurer said he could not be precise about the total war damage Rumania had suffered, but United Nations nationals lost property worth more than £50,000,000, most of which was in the transport and petroleum industries. Mr Maurer added that Rumania had already granted credits to private concerns to help them to reconstruct war-damaged plants. There had been no discrimination. Rumania had also paid out £250,000,000 for the maintnance of the Russian and Rumanian Army on Rumanian territory. J , The committee adopted a new clause for the draft treaty laying down that Rumania would not ce responsible for damage caused to United Nations property in northern Translyvania, which was administered by Hungary during the war, and which is now Rumanian. The committee also adopted Article 25 confirming Russia’s title to German assets in Rumania transferred to Russia by the Control Council for Germany. _________