Romania’s parliament is expected to vote next week a property restitution legislation.

During WWII, Romania was an ally of Nazi Germany until it changed sides in August 1944. But much of the property seized by the Nazis during the war was later nationalised under communist rule which followed.

After the collapse of communist rule, Romania passed laws for returning property to the original owners in the 1990s but red tape prevented legislation from having any real effect.

A draft law, published on parliament's website, said that in processing applications for the return of property priority would be given to "requests by people certified as Holocaust survivors by entities designated by the Romanian state or other European Union states ..."

The draft easily cleared the upper house of parliament last week and will go to a final vote in the lower house next week where it is expected to win overwhelming support.

Before the war, the country’s Jewish population was about 800,000. Today about 11,000 Jews live in Romania.