Schroeder rejects Buzek proposal to accelerate forced labor compensation

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has rejected Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek's proposal to amend the German law on compensation for World War II slave laborers, so as to allow payments to commence without further delay. Third Reich victims are still waiting for compensation from the DM10 billion fund, as U.S. courts have not yet rejected all the lawsuits against German industry from the victims, a prerequisite for payments to begin. The German government also refused to soften its insistence on allowing Polish workers into EU labor markets only after a seven-year transition period. "We have not reached agreement on this [with Prime Minister Buzek], and we shall continue talks on this issue,"said Schroeder. (Rzeczpospolita, April 7-8, p.A4) T.J.