Back in 2013, Iceland abandoned talks about joining the bloc, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine and growing global instability have increased support for becoming a full member state. Iceland already works closely with EU countries and is part of Europe's passport-free travel area.
Showing posts with label Iceland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iceland. Show all posts
February 26, 2026
Iceland to Hold Referendum on Full EU Membership | DW News
Feb 26, 2026 | Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir says her country will hold a referendum in the coming months on joining the European Union.
Back in 2013, Iceland abandoned talks about joining the bloc, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine and growing global instability have increased support for becoming a full member state. Iceland already works closely with EU countries and is part of Europe's passport-free travel area.
Back in 2013, Iceland abandoned talks about joining the bloc, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine and growing global instability have increased support for becoming a full member state. Iceland already works closely with EU countries and is part of Europe's passport-free travel area.
April 17, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: UK retailers face significant disruption to their supply chains due to a ban on air freight following the volcanic ash crisis.
Store groups face potential shortages of medicine, cut flowers and exotic fruit and vegetables due to the closure of British airspace, that was expected to have ended in England and Wales by 7am on Saturday.
Clothing retailers also face a backlog as their stock sits in holding pens around the world waiting to be flown from manufacturing hubs to the UK.
The ban on air freight has meant that fruits such as figs, papaya and coconuts, fresh flowers and pharmaceutical products – all of which are delivered by air – are not reaching their destinations in the UK. Air freight accounts for 25pc of the UK's international goods movements by value.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) said yesterday that it fears the cost to business – and consumers – will escalate as the volcanic cloud casts its shadow further. >>> James Hall Retail Editor | Friday, April 16, 2010
April 09, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: "I don't tell my children where I get the food, I'm too ashamed," said Iris Aegisdottir, an Icelander who has been going to a food bank every week for a year to feed her three children.
The crisis that brought down Iceland's economy in late 2008 threw thousands of formerly well-off families into poverty, forcing people like Iris to turn to charity to survive.
Each week, up to 550 families queue up at a small white brick warehouse in Reykjavik to receive free food from the Icelandic Aid to Families organisation, three times more than before the crisis.
Rutur Jonsson, a 65-year-old retired mechanical engineer, and his fellow volunteers spend their days distributing milk, bread, eggs and canned food donated by businesses and individuals or bought in bulk at the supermarket.
"I have time to spend on others and that's the best thing I think I can do," he said as he pre-packed grocery bags full of produce.
In a small, close-knit country of just 317,000 people, where everyone knows everyone, the stigma of accepting a hand-out is hard to live down and of the dozens of people waiting outside the food bank in the snow on a dreary March afternoon, Iris is the only one willing to talk.
"It was very difficult for me to come here in the beginning. But now I try not to care so much anymore," said the weary-looking 41 year-old, who lost her job in a pharmacy last summer, as she wrung her hands nervously.
The contrast is brutal with the ostentatious wealth that was on display across the island just two years ago, as a hyperactive banking sector flooded the small, formerly fishing-based economy with fast cash.
Back then, the biggest worry for many Icelanders was who had the nicest SUV, or the most opulent flat.
But today visible signs of poverty are quickly multiplying in the Nordic island nation, despite its generous welfare state, as the middle class is increasingly hit by unemployment, which is up from one to nine per cent in about a year, and a large number of defaults on mortgages. >>> Marc Preel, in Reykjavik for AFP | Thursday, April 08, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Anna Margret Bjoernsdottir never thought she would be forced to leave her once wealthy homeland. But taking out a loan in a foreign currency was a disastrous decision.
After 18 months of economic upheaval she has decided to join the biggest emigration wave from Iceland in more than a century.
"I just don't see any future here. There isn't going to be any future in this country for the next 20 years, everything is going backwards," lamented the 46-year-old single mother, who plans to move to Norway in June.
The former estate agent who lost her job when Iceland's housing market disintegrated two years ago said that she feared she could soon be forced out of her large house in Mosfellsbaer, around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Reykjavik.
"I don't want to sell it," she said, vowing to "fight to keep" the comfortable wooden dwelling she, her daughter Olavia, their cat, Isolde Tinna, and their dog, Candit the Bandit, have called home since 2004.
Bjoernsdottir is not alone in planning to leave Iceland's economic mess behind and seek a new future abroad. Most people in Reykjavik have someone in their surroundings who has already packed their bags and gone. >>> Marc Preel, in Mosfellsbaer for AFP | Wednesday, April 08, 2010
March 06, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Isländer stimmen über Milliarden-Zahlungen ab: Nein zum Abkommen mit Grossbritannien und den Niederlanden erwartet >>> sda/dpa | Samstag, 06. März 2010
January 06, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Britain warned Iceland that it would be frozen out of the European Union after its President abruptly vetoed the repayment of a £3.6 billion loan.
The Treasury expected Reykjavik to rubberstamp the terms of repayment for the loan extended by Britain and the Netherlands at the height of the financial crisis. The loan meant that 400,000 savers with deposits in Icesave did not lose their money.
President Ólafur Grimsson stunned the world’s financial community by refusing to sign the repayment schedule into law. Instead, he said that the matter would be decided in a referendum among Iceland’s 243,000 voters.
The decision threatened to bring down the Icelandic Government, took its financial system to the brink of collapse and sparked the worst row with Britain since the Cod Wars of the 1970s. Fitch, the international rating agency, downgraded Iceland’s credit rating to junk status.
Lord Myners, the financial services minister, said that if the decision was allowed to stand Iceland would be frozen out of the international financial system and would not be able to join the European Union. >>> Suzy Jagger and Jill Sherman | Wednesday, January 06, 2010
September 29, 2009
February 07, 2009
The shockwaves from the country's economic implosion are being felt in Britain, but the effects are far worse at home
Iceland's humiliation begins at Heathrow. Try buying the currency, the krona, at Travelex and you will discover it is no longer held. "And whatever you do," says the woman at the counter, "don't bring any back." The words "failed state" bring to mind ungovernable Third World hell-holes, but Iceland is a new kind of failed state, a financially failed one. Without cash from the International Monetary Fund it would be as near to bankrupt as a country can be.
The latest aftershock was felt in Britain this week when the holding company Baugur, with stakes in a string of British high street chains, went into administration. The group, which has major shareholdings in House of Fraser, Iceland, Hamleys, and Mappin & Webb, collapsed with debts of more than £1 billion. The future of 3,500 stores and some 50,000 jobs is in doubt.
However, the turmoil engulfing Iceland's economy is far from evident on arriving at Keflavik airport, 40 minutes' drive from the capital, Reykjavik. The air is clean, the roads good and the houses that dot the stark volcanic landscape well maintained. The cars are big, too: four-wheel drives and high-end marques. But then the stories begin. The taxi driver on the Keflavik run was in his sixties, respectable, softly-spoken and, to all intents and purposes, bankrupt.
"I keep on working and pay what I can. The bank knows I can't do more. There is no point in shutting me down."
His tale is similar to thousands of others. He had needed a new car and went to his bank for a loan – Icelanders, for so long a frugal people dependent on fish and agriculture, have become as addicted to debt as the British. His lender suggested using a "currency basket", made up of different strong currencies, to buy a secondhand Cadillac from America because the krona was weak. The little currency had suffered from volatility in the past but no one predicted what came next. In October, the banking system imploded under the weight of an enormous mountain of debt. The three big banks had boasted assets many times the size of the country's GDP, but their liabilities were of a similar order. When the government nationalised the banks, it was left with liabilities in excess of $60 billion (£40 billion), more than three times GDP. The krona nose-dived and borrowers like the taxi driver woke up one cloudy morning to discover that, in krona terms, their loans had doubled in size. With the krona effectively dead, the country has been forced to seek the shelter of a bigger currency – probably the euro. >>> Neil Tweedie | Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
January 30, 2009
Iceland will be put on a fast track to joining the European Union to rescue the small Arctic state from financial collapse amid rising expectations that it will apply for membership within months, senior policy-makers in Brussels and Reykjavik have told the Guardian.
The European commission is preparing itself for a membership bid, depending on the outcome of a snap general election expected in May. An application would be viewed very favourably in Brussels and the negotiations, which normally take many years, would be fast-forwarded to make Iceland the EU's 29th member in record time, probably in 2011.
Olli Rehn, the European commissioner in charge of enlargement, said: "The EU prefers two countries joining at the same time rather than individually. If Iceland applies shortly and the negotiations are rapid, Croatia and Iceland could join the EU in parallel. On Iceland, I hope I will be busier. It is one of the oldest democracies in the world and its strategic and economic positions would be an asset to the EU."
Rehn's support for swift Icelandic membership was echoed by senior European diplomats in Brussels. "We would like to see Iceland join the EU," said one. The current and next holders of the EU presidency, the Czechs and then the Swedes, are also strong supporters of EU enlargement and will deploy their agenda-setting powers to help Iceland. >>> Ian Traynor in Brussels, additional reporting by Valur Gunnarsson in Reykjavik | Friday, January 30, 2009
Listen to audio: Iceland into EU: 'A society that has hit the rails and the currency has been wrecked' – Ian Traynor on fast-tracking Iceland into the EU and the euro >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
October 28, 2008
TIMESONLINE: Iceland’s central bank today raised interest rates by a massive 6 percentage points to 18 per cent and said it had applied to the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank for extra funding.
The struggling country has already said it needs another $4 billion in loans on top of the $2 billion it is seeking from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The massive rise in interest rates, coming only a fortnight after borrowing costs were cut, is thought to be in response to demands from the IMF to support the country's currency, the krona. Trading in the currency has been suspended after its value fell 70 per cent.
However, Iceland and the IMF are also trying to stem soaring inflation. Official figures released today showed the 12-month rate had reached 15.9 per cent in October from 14 per cent a month earlier. Economists predict it could reach as much as 20 per cent. >>> Robert Lindsay | October 28, 2008
BBC: Analysis: Why Raising Interest Rates Won’t Work
The first industrialised country to request assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in over 30 years is Iceland.
The reason is that Iceland was hit by the deepest and most rapid financial crisis in peacetime history.
At the moment, the Icelandic economy has come to a standstill, it is almost impossible to transfer foreign currency between Iceland and abroad, which is a calamity for a country that is almost entirely dependent on imports and exports.
Exporters cannot bring export earnings into Iceland, and it is very difficult to obtain foreign currency to purchase necessities.
The key factor in Iceland's failure has been the monetary policy pursued by its Central Bank, in particular inflation targeting, similar to the UK.
This means the Central Bank targets inflation, raises interest rates if inflation is above the target, and lowers them if inflation is below target.
Such a policy has a sound foundation in economic theory and is often appropriate for large countries.
In the case of Iceland, it was disastrous. >>> Jon Danielsson, Economist, Financial Markets Group, London School of Economics | October 28, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
October 22, 2008
GLOBE AND MAIL: Small countries are the biggest victims of the financial crisis, leaving many people looking to bigger nations for economic security
LONDON -- In the centre of Scotland this week, separatist leader Alex Salmond discovered that size has become a problem. He has pegged his political future to the idea of an "arc of prosperity" uniting small countries from Iceland to Ireland through Scotland to Scandinavia.
That sounded good two months ago, when those Celtic tigers and Icelandic miracles were the talk of the economic world and small countries were boasting about their big banks and independent currencies.
Suddenly, the "arc of prosperity" is being called an "arc of insolvency" as small countries have become the biggest victims of the financial crisis.
In the past few weeks, Iceland has gone bankrupt and is now being bailed out by the International Monetary Fund. Ireland is suffering Europe's first real recession and has slashed its government and raised taxes to keep its beleaguered banks afloat. Scandinavian countries are talking seriously for the first time of ditching their currencies, which have plummeted, in favour of joining the big, stable euro.
Across Europe, people are moving their savings and possibly their political support to the security of big countries, big governments, big political parties and big currencies.
Small countries from Lichtenstein to the Canary Islands are learning that being a tax-sheltered banking haven is a fleeting pleasure: When the going gets tough, as it is now, the bank accounts retreat to big, well-known countries. Fear of regulators shutting down the tax shelters - as French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested to U.S. President George W. Bush last weekend - is pulling them away, but so is the fear of having money tied up in a country too small to save its own banks.
That, analysts say, is the problem: In a new era when government has become the guarantor of financial stability and the lender of first resort, nobody wants to touch those countries whose banks are bigger than their economies. >>> Doug Saunders | October 22, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Canada) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Canada) >>>
October 09, 2008
THE INDEPENDENT: Crisis-hit Iceland suspended trading on its stock exchange until Monday today.
The OMX Nordic Exchange Iceland said the decision was due to "unusual market conditions".
Iceland is sinking deeper into financial turmoil as its top-heavy banking system collapses.
The Icelandic government now has control of all three of the country's major banks - Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir - as it struggles to contain the panic.
The crisis is also hitting several other countries in Europe, where thousands of people have accounts with subsidiaries of the Icelandic banks. [Source: The Independent] AP | October 9, 2008
THE INDEPENDENT:
Council Millions at Risk in Icelandic Banks: Britain's local authorities came under fire today after it emerged that millions of pounds of council taxpayers' money invested in Icelandic banks is at risk.
Critics branded the investments an "absolute disgrace" and said those responsible should consider their positions.
One authority - Kent County Council - has £50 million deposited in Icelandic banks while more than 20 others are thought to have exposure running into millions of pounds.
Barnet Council in north London is thought to have in the region of £27 million deposited and Westminster Council said it had £17 million with Icelandic institutions.
Transport for London said it has a £40 million deposit with Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander, which has been placed into administration.
Mark Wallace, campaign director at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "People will be shocked that the councils had this money stashed away in the first place.
"Every year we hear that councils don't have enough money and need to raise taxes but it seems they have had sufficient excess tax to salt tens of millions of pounds away.
"The fact that they have invested this money and seem to have lost it is even more shocking and is sadly yet another reminder of the poor financial management in local councils.
"In short, they should not have stashed this money in the first place and they simply weren't equipped to try to be clever in the markets with it." >>> By Joe Sinclair, PA | October 9, 2008
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October 08, 2008
THE TELEGRAPH: The Icelandic government has seized the country's second-largest bank and pleaded with Russia to hand it a £3bn life-line loan in order to stave off "national bankruptcy" as it continued to come to grips with its harsh new economic realities.
Prime Minister Geir Haarde rushed emergency measures through the Nordic nation's parliament to nationalise Landsbanki and give the country's largest bank, Kaupthing, a £400m loan to bolster its balance sheet.
Landsbanki has been put into the control of the Icelandic financial regulator to prevent the meltdown of the country's financial system, triggering the collapse of its popular internet savings arm Icesave.
Mr Haarde confirmed that he was sending a delegation to Iceland's "new friend" Russia to negotiate a £3bn capital injection into the country's finances, after the country's traditional Western allies refused to help the collapsing banking system.
The loan from Russia will be used to shore up the Icelandic krona, which tumbled by 30pc on Monday, rather than the country's two nationalised banks, Landsbanki and Glitnir.
However it was reported that Iceland chose not to seek the help of the International Monetary Fund, a suggestion allegedly first made by Japan.
The Icelandic krona has now been pegged at 131 against the euro as an emergency measure and the stock exchange has banned short-selling of bank shares.
The new manager of Landsbanki, Halldor Kristjansson, placed part of the blame for the nationalisation of the bank on savers trying to withdraw their money from Icesave, which has 300,000 British customers with a collective £4bn of savings.
Asked about the run on Icesave, Mr Kristjansson said: "That by itself caused additional problems on top of everything else. There are so many interwoven factors. That wasn't the main problem, although it was very big." Financial Crisis: Iceland Nationalises Bank and Seeks Russian Loan >>> By Rowena Mason, in Reykjavik | October 8, 2008
Watch BBC video: Iceland Looks to Russia for Loan: Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde has confirmed that the country is to hold talks with Russia over a loan to stabilise the troubled banking system. >>> | October 8, 2008
Watch BBC video: Iceland Guarantees Accounts: Iceland's government is to offer an unlimited guarantee for all bank customers' savings accounts. Hugh Pym reports >>> | October 8, 2008
Watch BBC video: Financial Fears in oceland: Iceland's government is to offer an unlimited guarantee for all bank accounts, following fears about savings.
Members of the public, Editor-in-chief of t24 Óli Björn Kárason, and Vilhjálmur Bjarnason, who is the leader of the shareholders union, talk about financial problems in their country. >>> | October 8, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
October 07, 2008
THE TELEGRAPH: Iceland has adopted sweeping powers in a bid to stabilise its struggling financial sector and made clear it would nationalise more banks if necessary.
Prime Minister Geir Haarde warned of “chaos” if Iceland’s banks stopped operating, and rushed through emergency legislative measures designed to stop the collapse of the Icelandic banking system.
Mr Haarde added: “A lot of the banks’ business is in Britain, so it is likely that Britain might well be affected.”
Earlier yesterday the government halted trading in the shares of six of the country’s banks. The threat is the biggest yet faced by any country over its financial sovereignty in the 14-month-old credit crisis.
The obvious implications of recent events in the “Land of Fire and Ice” are the sale of tens of billions of pounds of foreign investments, including major loan portfolios and retail assets in the UK.
The credit crisis has been particularly damaging to Iceland because its banks are so powerful in its economy, with liabilities worth almost 10 times the country’s gross domestic product.
Mr Haarde’s emergency measures include the ability to nationalise banks and a suspension of competition laws.
Last night it was not clear what Iceland plans to do with Kaupthing, the country’s biggest bank, and Landsbanki, the number two player. They could follow the third biggest bank, Glitnir, into nationalisation. Iceland Prepares to Rescue Its Banks >>> By Rowena Mason in Reykjavik and James Quinn in London | October 7, 2008
TIMESONLINE:
Bank Shares Plummet and Icesave Deposits Frozen: The global financial crisis deepened again today as shares in British banks plummeted by up to 40 per cent and 300,000 British savers were blocked from accessing their money in the Icelandic bank Icesave after it collapsed. >>> David Charter, in Luxembourg, and Jenny Booth | October 7, 2008
FINANCIAL TIMES:
Iceland Nationalises Landsbanki: Landsbanki, Iceland’s second largest bank, was nationalised on Tuesday as the country used new powers that allow it to seize control of public companies in the financial services sector.
The Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority on Tuesday said it had dismissed the bank’s management board and appointed a receivership committee to run the group’s operations with immediate effect as the government seeks to stabilise the country’s financial system. >>> By Tom Braithwaite in Reykjavik | October 7, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
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