German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out war reparations to the Greek state. Instead, she is in favor of joint projects through a “fund with the future”. The program will have an annual budget worth 1 million euros as a gesture of atonement for Nazi atrocities in Greece during World War II.

The deal, however, may languish as Greece and other eurozone members are deadlocked in completing the country’s 240-billion-euro bailout program. The aid program, a German initiative, is stalled, with 7.2 billion euros remaining.

The Greek government, however, is not backing down on its claims for war reparations, paid in full, with one estimate pointing to a figure as high as 278.7 billion euros.

It isn’t just most Greeks and courts that believe that Germany should pay up, with hundreds of Germans having signed a petition through change.org urging Merkel to pay war reparations. The petition, the Berlin-based Peira political group’s intiative, includes an open letter:

“There are still many Nazi victims groups that have not been compensated adequately. War Crime victims, in Russia, Poland, Italy and Greece, have received nothing. Unlike your government, we believe that the historic debt has not been written off, the victims should be compensated regardless of the time passed since the damage and open international law demands can only be met by bilateral agreements,” noted Peira’s letter, making specific references to the forced occupation loan.