Finance ministers meet over Icesave
Friday 29 January 2010
Finance minister Wouter Bos is holding talks with his Icelandic and British counterparts in the Hague on Friday afternoon about the Icesave repayment problem, Nos tv reports.
Iceland is hoping to come to a new agreement about the repayment of a €4.4bn loan made by the Netherlands and Britain to help Iceland repay bank customers hit when Icesave parent Landsbanki collapsed.
Iceland is holding a referendum on the payback deal on March 6, which is very likely to go against the agreement.
According to an emailed statement from the Icelandic finance ministry, the meeting is to 'exchange information and discuss the status' of the accord.
© DutchNews.nl
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Monday: Between 2º and 5º with light snow or sleet. Around zero at night. Similar Tuesday
It would be refreshing if people started to realise that the Icesave quarrel is a legal dispute. According to law, there were no state guaranties on the Icesave accounts. The EU directives clearly explain this fact. Furthermore, it was the duty of the host Member States of the EU to supervise operations of the branches running Icesave.
This is based on the principle of host Member State responsibility, which starts to operate when head offices of the banks are located outside of EU but the branches within, or when the banks have bigger operations in the host Member State than in the home Member State. Where was Iceland’s fault ? It was nonexistent !
The fault was obviously with the bankers and British and Dutch authorities. If the colonial powers of Britain and the Netherlands believe that they have a legal case against the common folks of Iceland, they should be willing to take their case to court. Iceland has repeatedly asked for court decision, but Britain and the Netherland equally often refused.
It is correct which someone said, that state guaranties is the trademark of communism. The same is true of central banks, which are run according to the >>discretionary monetary policy.<< These people are doing their irresponsible hocus-pocus behind the scenes and having the general public to pay for their unavoidable mistakes.
By Loftur Altice Þorsteinsson | February 15, 2010 6:10 PM