Italy reacted with anger on Tuesday to a Croatian plan to return to Austrian citizens property confiscated by Yugoslav communists after World War Two, saying it had long sought a similar deal for Italian nationals, Reuters reported. Croatia's conservative cabinet announced at the weekend it had initiated a deal with Vienna whereby Germans who acquired Austrian citizenship after fleeing Yugoslavia had a right to file for the return of their property or be compensated. "The Foreign Ministry notes with increasing concern the multiplication of negative signs towards Italy coming from Croatia," the ministry said in a statement. "Italy considers those signs ... in contrast to the unconditional and friendly support given by the Italian government to Croatia's process of integration within the European Union," it said. Relations between the two countries have been strained by a long-standing dispute over the Istrian peninsula, which was part of Italy from 1918-1945 but reverted to Yugoslav federation control after World War Two.
