On 29 September 1998 Federal Chancellor Mag. Viktor Klima, Vice-Chancellor Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel, National Assembly Speaker Dr. Heinz Fischer and Deputy National Assembly Speaker Dr. Neisser achieved a full consensus on the further procedure in setting up an autonomous and independent Commission.

This Commission of the Republic of Austria will be appointed jointly by the Federal Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Speaker of the Federal Council and will do its work on their behalf.

The Commission's mandate is: To research and report about the whole complex of "Looting of property in the territory of the Republic of Austria in the Nazi era and acts of restitution and/or compensation (including economic and social benefits) by the Republic of Austria after 1945".

The Commission will consist of a total of 6 members. It will be chaired by the President of the Administrative Court, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Clemens Jabloner. The other members of the Commission will be the Director-General of the Austrian State Archives, Hon.-Prof. Dr. Lorenz Mikoletzky, one internationally reputed foreign expert and 3 Austrian scholars.

The appointments of the foreign experts and of the three Austrian scholars will be made by the Federal Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor and the Speakers of the National Assembly and of the Federal Council.

The Institute "Yad Vashem" (Jerusalem), the Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington D.C.) and Mr. Simon Wiesenthal will be invited to submit a joint three-name short list for an internationally reputed foreign expert.

The Directors of the Departments of Economic and Social History of the Universities of Vienna, Linz, Innsbruck and Graz and the Director of the Department of Economic and Social History of the Economic University of Vienna will be invited to submit a joint two-name short list for an Austrian economic and social historian.

The Directors of the Departments of Contemporary History of the Universities of Vienna, Linz and Innsbruck, the Director of the Department of History of the University of Salzburg, the Director of the Contemporary History Division of the Department of History of the University of Klagenfurt, the Director of the Division of General History of the Department of History of the University of Graz and the Directors of the Boltzmann Institute for Research into the Consequences of the War and of the Documentation Archive of Austrian Resistance will be invited to submit a joint four-name short list for two Austrian experts on contemporary history.

These short lists should be submitted within two weeks.

The Commission is invited to elaborate a work programme within three months after its constitution and to make proposals on its methodical approach, organisational requirements, time frame and budget. The Commission's budget will then be included in the parliamentary budget.

The Commission's Secretariat will be established in the Austrian State Archives.

Thereby another vital step has been initiated for an objective, transparent, independent and comprehensive clarification of one of the most painful chapters of our history.

We therefore make the

that the Federal Government approve the above report.