English Translation

56 25 Declaration of the Italian Government Committee. The Italian Government's Committee is moved to point out the following: 1. Point 20 of the Confidential Protocol of 1 4 March 1942 must be considered in return for the total complexity of the economic and payment agreements existing between Germany and Italy. It should therefore lead to other German concessions or to the restriction of other Italian concessions. 2. With regard to paragraph 20 above, Italy has the same difficulties with regard to means of payment as Germany has claimed for itself. The German proposal therefore means nothing more than the postponement of its own difficulties to the detriment of Italy, which, as has already been said, is in the same situation as Germany vis-à-vis the transit countries. 3. In any event, Italy is prepared - subject to the need to discuss the matter again in the course of the year 19843 before the Joint Committee or between the two chairmen - to accept, on an experimental basis and for this year, the wording put forward by the German Government Committee, provided that a clear agreement is reached to ensure that payments for transport on the Danube, which are of interest to Italy, are carried out. 4. These transports are completely controlled by the German side by a cartel with headquarters in Vienna. The transports of interest to Italy are carried out with German, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian and to a very small extent also with Italian material. In view of the fact that in the future the allocation of the material in question for the transport to Italy - as far as the flag under which the individual ships are flying - will continue to take place under the existing distribution system, it is proposed on the Italian side that the cargo be fixed and paid according to the nationality of the individual vessels. On the other hand, the Italian authorities consider that this solution is in line with the German proposal on the making available of