Johanna Sigurdardottir

Iceland has reached a deal with the British and Dutch governments to reimburse them for compensating savers who lost money in the collapse of Icesave bank, the Icelandic government said Sunday. "An understanding has been reached with the UK and the Netherlands," a statement from Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir's office said. Iceland's parliament approved in August a controversial deal to pay back 3.8 billion euros (5.4 billion dollars) to the British and Dutch governments for the compensation they forked out to disgruntled savers from Britain and the Netherlands. However, in order to pass the deal through the Icelandic parliament, Sigurdardottir negotiated several amendments that ... Read Full Story

Iceland has reached a deal with the British and Dutch governments to reimburse them for compensating savers who lost money in the collapse of Icesave bank, Icelandic media reported Sunday. "A conclusion has been reached in the Icesave negotiations between the Icelandic, British and Dutch governments," Morgunbladid said in its online edition, citing unidentified sources close to the talks. Iceland's parliament approved in August a controversial deal to pay back 3.8 billion euros (3.4 billion pounds) to the British and Dutch governments for the compensation they forked out to disgruntled savers from Britain and the Netherlands. However, in order to pass the deal through ... Read Full Story

Iceland's parliament on Friday approved a controversial deal to pay back billions of euros (dollars) lost by British and Dutch savers in the collapse of the online Icesave bank. The deal provides for the payment of 3.8 billion euros (5.4 billion dollars) by 2023 to the British and Dutch governments for the compensation they forked out to disgruntled savers. In Parliament, 34 MPs voted in favour of the accord, while 14 opposed it and 14 abstained. One deputy was not present for the vote. Icesave, an online subsidiary of the Landsbanki bank which had to be rescued in October 2008, attracted over 320,000 British ... Read Full Story

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Thursday he hoped EU accession talks with Iceland and Croatia could be concluded during Spain's EU presidency which ends in June next year. "That could be a good final outcome of the Spanish presidency: to end the presidency with two new member states. One from the south, Croatia, and one from the north, Iceland," Moratinos said late Thursday in Reykjavik. Spain's top diplomat had earlier in the day held talks on Iceland's membership application with the country's Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson. "The ideal process would be that by the end of the ... Read Full Story

Iceland's government is battling to convince lawmakers to approve a deal to pay back billions of euros to the British and Dutch governments in a row which threatens its bid to join the EU. After London and The Hague compensated hundreds of thousands of British and Dutch savers who lost money in the collapse of the online bank Icesave, Reykjavik reached an agreement in June under which Iceland would repay 3.8 billion euros to Britain and the Netherlands by 2023. The Icelandic parliament, the Althing, has to give its green light for the deal to go through, but amid heated debate the government may ... Read Full Story