RIGA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Latvia's ruling liberal alliance For Development/For has proposed paying out 40 million euros (45.31 million U.S. dollars) to compensate the Baltic country's Jewish community for the properties they lost during World War II, local media reported Wednesday.
While For Development/For expects its center-right coalition partner New Unity and perhaps also some opposition members to support the restitution bill, public television reported that two other coalition parties will probably reject the proposal.
For Development/For is confident the bill on the highly sensitive issue will pass in the parliament, which is expected to decide on the draft legislation providing for the property restitution to the Jewish community already this week.
According to the draft law, the Jewish property restitution will require 40 million euros from the government budget. The payouts would be started in one and a half years and completed in 10 years.
Daniels Pavluts, leader of For Development/For faction in the Latvian parliament, said that the amount of the compensations would be equivalent to the lost properties' value "which, as far as I know, would be acceptable to the Jewish community".
