Posts Tagged ‘Foreign Minister’
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
The leaders of Iceland’s political parties have decided to politely request further talks with the British and Dutch authorities over Icesave.
The meeting between Icelandic government and opposition party leaders has just finished where it was decided that no counter offer will be sent to this weekend’s Icesave repayment proposal from the British and Dutch governments. Instead, the party leaders have decided to send a courteous response to London and The Hague requesting a further trilateral meeting of the three nations’ negotiating teams.
Both the government parties and the opposition parties agreed at the meeting that the new offer is not acceptable. It still needs amendments.
Visir.is reports that Left Green leader and Finance Minister, Steingrimur J. Sigfusson; Independence Party leader, Bjarni Benediktsson; Progressive Party leader Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and Birgitta Jonsdottir from The Movement all answered questions on the steps of the Cabinet House after the meeting. Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and her Foreign Minister, Ossur Skarphedinsson both left through the back door without speaking to the media.
Tags: Back Door, Birgitta Jonsdottir, Courteous Response, Dutch Authorities, Dutch Governments, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Government Parties, Green Leader, Hague, Icesave, Independence Party, Johanna, Opposition Parties, Opposition Party Leaders, Ossur, Party Leader, Political Parties, Progressive Party, Repayment Proposal
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Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Iceland’s parliamentary banking collapse investigators have decided to allow those accused of wrongdoing more time to respond.
The committee members sent out letters warning 12 public figures that they will be mentioned in the so called ‘black report’ into the banking crisis, due for release within weeks. The 12 were given a limited amount of time to reply; but have now been granted an extension until the 24th February. Only public officials have the legal right to reply to the committee’s accusations, so it is only those 12 people who have been pre-warned by the committee.
The twelve public officials include former Prime Minister and Central Bank of Iceland head, David Oddsson; former Prime Minister, Geir H. Haarde; former Minister for Trade, Bjorgvin Sigurdsson; former Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir and former Finance Minister, Arni Mathiesen.
Visir.is reports that a statement from the committee says that the extension was offered to all 12 as a matter of fairness, but that submissions may be made before the deadline. In light of the two delays already to the report’s publication, the statement says the committee still hopes to publish its report at the beginning of March.
Tags: Accusations, Amount Of Time, Bank Of Iceland, Banking Crisis, Central Bank Of Iceland, Collapse, Committee Members, Crash, David Oddsson, Fairness, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Former Prime Minister, Investigators, Limited, Public Officials, Submissions, Visir, Wrongdoing
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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Johanna Sigurdardottir, Prime Minister of Iceland believes that this week’s Icesave talks in London were more positive than at first reported.
She said that the meetings left room for optimism that a trilateral agreement will be reached soon – adding that the situation is serious and complicated and could still change. Reuters reports that talks will continue, although British and Dutch authorities are not enthusiastic to reopen formal negotiations.
The Prime Minister went on to tell RUV that the slow progress of the Icesave issue contrasts starkly with the European Union’s decision yesterday to begin accession talks with Iceland – which should finally prove that the two issues are not linked, she said.
Icelandic Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson and his Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt met in Stockholm yesterday to discuss the Icesave issue in minute detail, RUV reports. They also discussed the status of Iceland’s IMF-led recovery package and the country’s EU application.
Meanwhile Sigbjorn Johnsen, the Norwegian Finance Minister told his country’s parliament that there is no question that Iceland is responsible for insuring deposits within Icesave and that the country was legally responsible for the behaviour of its bank branches in other EU/EEA countries.
He told parliamentarians that there is little argument over either of these facts in any country, and continued that Norwegian loans to Iceland are not contingent on a resolution to the Icesave issue, but said that Norwegian loans are part of a wider IMF/Nordic package. His comments came in response to pleas from three opposition MPs to pay out loans to Iceland immediately.
Johnsen also said in his long, pre-prepared response that Iceland’s current situation is not as bad has initially feared – with lower unemployment than both Sweden and Finland, higher than expected export revenues and relatively stable industry. Government debt is very high though, he conceded.
Tags: Accession Talks, Bank Branches, Carl Bildt, Dutch Authorities, Eea Countries, Export Revenues, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Formal Negotiations, Government Debt, Icesave, Imf, Minute Detail, Opposition Mps, Parliamentarians, Prime Minister Of Iceland, Reuters Reports, Slow Progress, Stable Industry, Trilateral Agreement
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Friday, February 12th, 2010
Foreign Minister Össur Skarphédinsson met his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos in Madrid on Wednesday evening, after meeting British Foreign Minister David Miliband in London the same day. Icesave was discussed at both meetings.
Tags: Counterpart, David Miliband, Foreign Minister, Iceland Tour, Icesave, London, Madrid, Met, Miguel Angel Moratinos, Minister David, Wednesday Evening
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Monday, January 25th, 2010
If you took out a ISK 2.2 million car loan, paid off 700,000 in the first year and were left with a debt of 5 million after having returned the car, maybe you’d want to make a movie about the Icelandic banking crash too. Just where has all the money gone?!
Maybe I Should Have is the name of a new film by Gunnar Sigurdsson and is a personal account of the Icelandic economic collapse: an unscientific investigation into what actually happened.
The film’s budget was tiny, but still stretched far enough for foreign filming locations including London, Washington DC, Guernsey and Tortola, the tax haven every Icelander has now heard of.
The film’s journey is punctuated with an authoritative roster of interviewees including a former foreign minister, a London banking boss and ‘Outvasion Viking’ Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson, who explains how sometimes money just ‘disappears’ to ‘money heaven’ never to be seen again. Which is nice to know. Explains a lot.
While a fair bit of the Icelandic banks’ money was indeed simply made up on paper, the rest of it (especially the money deposited in Icesave and other savings accounts) was very real. Sigurdsson demands the answer to a very simple question: where is that money now?
Regrettably he falls short of a concrete answer; but the more people openly asking such questions, the more likely we are to get an answer.
Maybe I Should Have is a highly entertaining and well-made film despite certain shortcomings. It goes on general release in Iceland on 5th February and the makers hope it will make its way onto the international film festival circuit in 2010 as well.
Tags: 5 Million, Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson, Boss, Car Loan, Concrete Answer, Crash, Economic Collapse, Film Festival Circuit, Filming Locations, Foreign Minister, Guernsey, Gunnar, International Film Festival, Interviewees, New Film, Personal Account, Savings Accounts, Shortcomings, Tax Haven, Viking
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Monday, January 25th, 2010
The Icelandic government would most like the Norwegians, Germans or French to act as intermediaries in any renegotiation of the Icesave deal with the Netherlands and the UK.
This is what Einar Karl Haraldsson, information officer at the Icelandic Prime Minister’s office said yesterday in an interview with the Norwegian Dagbladet newspaper.
Stod 2 News reported that the government would ideally like the role of mediator to go to a Norwegian.
Icelandic Progressive Party MP, Siv Fridleifsdottir said in an interview with Dagbladet that the name of Jonas Gahr Store, Norwegian Foreign Minister, has come up regularly in conversation in Reykjavik. She would not, however, be drawn on who she thinks will eventually get the job if Icesave negotiations recommence.
Jonas Gahr Store told Dagbladet that he does not want to give a public opinion on the subject yet. He said that the Norwegian and Icelandic governments are in regular close contact, but would not say specifically if Icesave negotiations are among topics of conversation.
Tags: Close Contact, Dagbladet, Einar, Foreign Minister, Gahr, Germans, Haraldsson, Information Officer, Intermediaries, Mediator, Negotiations, News Reported That, Norwegians, Prime Minister, Progressive Party, Public Opinion, Renegotiation, Reykjavik, Siv, Topics Of Conversation
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Saturday, January 16th, 2010
MPs from the smallest party in Iceland’s parliament say that they are against any future neutral mediator in the Icesave issue coming from a Scandinavian country. They told media that they cannot support an intermediary who comes from a country which has put so much political pressure on Iceland to obey the wishes of the Netherlands and the UK.
It remains possible that the Icesave issue will be renegotiated between Iceland and the Netherlands and UK. The Icelandic government has been meeting with opposition leaders in an attempt to hammer out a joint position on the matter, as well as working out what the contract would look like in an ideal world, if agreed on by all Icelandic political parties.
If the contract does end up being renegotiated, pressure and enthusiasm are mounting for the idea of bringing in a neutral mediator from an unconnected country to steer the talks.
Left Green MP Lilja Mosesdottir has, for example, stated her preference for Joschka Fischer, the former German Foreign Minister to be offered the role.
Birgita Jonsdottir, an MP for The Movement (formerly the Citizens’ Movement) says the parties involved should look to France or even the USA; but that Iceland should resist the idea of a mediator from Denmark, Finland, Norway or Sweden. “We ask that he or she not come from Scandinavia. The same countries which have been putting the thumb screw on us over the Icesave issue,” she said.
Tags: Citizens, Denmark Finland, Foreign Minister, France, Joschka Fischer, Lilja, Mediators, Mp, Netherlands Government, Neutral Mediator, New Deal, Norway, Opposition Leaders, Parliament, Political Parties, Preference, Scandinavia, Scandinavian Country, Sweden, Thumb Screw
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Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Foreign Minister of Iceland Össur Skarphédinsson has deployed the Icelandic International Search and Rescue Team to Haiti to participate in rescue efforts after an earthquake hit south of Port-au-Prince yesterday. The team left Iceland at 10 am this morning and will arrive in Haiti around 4 pm local time.
Tags: Earthquake, Foreign Minister, Haiti, Iceland, International Search, Local Time, Port Au Prince, Rescue Efforts, Rescue Team, Search And Rescue, Search Rescue
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Monday, January 11th, 2010
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos assured his Icelandic counterpart Össur Skarphédinssonon Saturday that the Icesave referendum won’t affect Iceland’s application for membership to the European Union; Spain currently holds the EU presidency.
Tags: Counterpart, Eu Presidency, European Union, Foreign Minister, Iceland, Icesave, Miguel áNgel, Moratinos, Referendum, Spain, Spanish
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Saturday, January 9th, 2010
(Press release from the Icelandic government):
The Foreign Minister of Iceland, Ossur Skarphedinsson, spoke today with Miguel Angel Moratinos, the Foreign Minister of Spain, which holds the Presidency of the European Union.
In their conversation, Mr. Morations stated that the Spanish EU Presidency viewed the Icesave issue and Iceland´s EU application as separate issues, and that the new situation that has arisen in Iceland would not have any impact on EU´s treatment of the application.
This is line with the conversation between the Icelandic Foreign Minister and UK Foreign Minister David Milliband on 7 January, in which Milliband declared that the UK would continue to support Iceland´s EU application. The same view was stated in a conversation between the Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 6 January 2010. This position is also in line with the former Swedish EU Presidency and statements made by representatives of the EU commission.
In the conversation with Moratinos, the Mr. Skarphedinsson explained the situation in Iceland following the President´s decision not to sign the Icesave bill, reiterated
Iceland´s vital interests and its determination to honour its international obligations.
Tags: 6 January, 7 January, Application Press, David Milliband, Eu Commission, European Union, Foreign Minister, Gordon Brown, Honour, Icesave, International Obligations, Johanna, Miguel Angel Moratinos, Minister David, New Situation, Ossur, Press Release, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Swedish Eu Presidency, Vital Interests
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Friday, January 8th, 2010
Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden will release a joint statement next week about the future of their economic aid programmes with Iceland, following President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson’s decision to send the so-called Icesave Bill to a public vote.
Further Nordic loans to Iceland have never been dependent on a resolution of Iceland’s Icesave spat with the Netherlands and the UK on paper; but in reality, leaders in each country have said that they are.
Icelandic Finance Minister, Steingrimur J. Sigfusson has spoken to his counterparts from all four countries over the last two days, making personal trips to Oslo and Copenhagen as well as phone calls to Stockholm and Helsinki.
The Minister’s effort already appears to be bearing fruit, with Bloomberg reporting an emerging consensus that the Nordic countries will live up to their commitments amid growing confidence that Iceland will live up to its.
“Norway stands by its commitments to Iceland,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in Oslo today. “It is Norway’s stance that the Nordic region should push for a continuation of the program within the International Monetary Fund.”
“What is essential is that Iceland’s government stands by its commitments, and we believe that they will,” he added. “Then we should make it clear to the other IMF partners that it would be extremely damaging for Iceland if we start to shake this foundation.”
Tags: Bearing Fruit, Bloomberg, Commitments, Continuation, Copenhagen, Counterparts, Denmark Finland, Economic Aid, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Gahr, Helsinki, Icesave, International Monetary Fund, Nordic Countries, Nordic Region, Personal Trips, Phone Calls, Public Vote, Ragnar
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Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Icelandic Foreign Minister, Ossur Skarphedinsson this evening said he believes it would be very difficult for the Nordic nations to freeze their loans to Iceland.
He said that it is not only the Nordic sense of togetherness that would complicate matters, but also the speeches and sentiments coming from Scandinavia in recent weeks and months that would make a U-turn embarrassing for Scandinavia and a heavy body-blow to Iceland.
He went on to point out that despite the President’s decision to send the Icesave Bill to a public vote, the bill has nonetheless become law – at least until such time as the public vote takes place. If the public then vote the law down, the previous Icesave law would come back into effect. Although the August Icesave law proved unsatisfactory for the British and Dutch governments, it did nonetheless categorically state that Iceland will reimburse the two countries’ Icesave losses.
The Nordic loans were, despite assurances, always dependant on Iceland’s parliament adopting an Icesave solution and the President’s potential for complicating the issue was hardly taken into account at the time. Skarphedinsson conceded that there would likely be no diplomatic crisis between Iceland and Scandinavia if the loans were to be refused because of Icesave. The Scandinavian countries have, he said, always treated Iceland fairly and their leaders have all agreed, in principle, that Icesave should not affect their relationships with Iceland.
Tags: Assurances, Body Blow, Dutch Governments, Foreign Minister, Iceland, Icesave, Loans, Losses, Nordic Nations, Ossur, Parliament, Principle, Public Vote, Relationships, Scandinavia, Scandinavian Countries, Sense Of Togetherness, Sentiments, Speeches, U Turn
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Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in an interview with the leading Norwegian news agency NTB yesterday that the national referendum on Icesave will not delay Norway’s loan to Iceland through the International Monetary Fund.
Tags: Foreign Minister, Gahr, Iceland, Icesave, International Monetary Fund, National Referendum, News Agency, Norway, Norwegian Minister, Norwegian News, Ntb
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Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Latvian Foreign Minister, Maris Riekstins, has spoken out in support of Iceland; telling Reuters that some nations’ response to the Icelandic president’s Icesave decision has been “exaggerated”. He explains that Iceland is simply following its own democratic rules.
He said that it is the Icelandic President’s constitutional right to send any bill to a public vote.
Riekstins told Reuters that the harsh reaction from the UK and Netherlands, among other things questioning the very basis of Icelandic politics, is exaggerated and raises questions about a nation’s right to carry out its own democratic processes in relation to agreements with other countries.
“Are these reactions coming just because Iceland is a small nation?” Riekstins asks, adding: “It is difficult to imagine these same countries would have acted the way they have against the French President [for example].”
He ended by saying that it remains clear that Iceland intends to stand by its obligations.
Latvia and Iceland have enjoyed a particularly close relationship since Iceland was the first nation to recognise Latvian independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Tags: Constitutional Right, Democratic Processes, Democratic Rules, First Nation, Foreign Minister, French President, Icesave, Independence From The Soviet Union, Latvia, Maris, Netherlands, Public Vote, Relationship, Reuters, Wades
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Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
The foreign ministers of Iceland and the United Kingdom will hold a telephone meeting this evening specifically to discuss the Icesave issue.
Iceland’s Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson said today he has been in near-constant contact with the Icelandic ambassador in London, who in turn has been in close contact with British politicians.
“During my conversation with [Foreign Secretary] David Milliband, I will lay strong emphasis on the fact that the President’s decision absolutely does not mean that we do not intend to honour our debts,” Skarphedinsson told Visir.is.
He said he also intends to mention that the Icelandic economy is currently in a much worse position than it might have been had the British government made less confrontational decisions at the start of the crisis in October 2008 and that the British government should take that into account in the decisions it takes from now on.
“I will then discuss with Milliband the fact that we need to work towards solutions for the deep ‘recession’ which now exists in our relations with the UK,” Skarphedinsson added. “These solutions need to be found using traditional diplomatic methods and not with blunt, unilateral statements.”
Tags: Ambassador, British Government, British Politicians, Close Contact, Constant Contact, Debts, Decisions, Economy, Foreign Minister, Foreign Ministers, Honour, Iceland Uk, London, Ossur, Recession, Secretary David, Uk Ministers, United Kingdom, United Telephone
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Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
Ossur Skarphedinsson, Iceland’s Foreign Minister, says he no longer intends to travel to India with President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson – a comment seen as proof of personal hard feelings between the left-wing government and Iceland’s left-wing president, formerly seen by many as natural allies.
President Grimsson is due to travel to India to receive the Nehru Prize. It will be an official state visit and the Foreign Minister was due to accompany the President and meet with the President of India, Pratibha Patil and the country’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, among others.
Skarphedinsson was asked yesterday afternoon if he still intended to travel with Grimsson to India between 14th and 18th January, Visir.is reports. His answer was extremely short and to-the-point: “No”.
Tags: Foreign Minister, Hard Feelings, Iceland, India Trip, Left Wing, Manmohan, Manmohan Singh, Natural Allies, Nehru, Ossur, President Of India, President Of India Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Proof, Ragnar, Travel India, Travel To India, Visir, Yesterday Afternoon
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Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
The Icelandic parliament is in turmoil in the third and final debate over Icesave. The parliament’s Budget Committee received last minute communications from British solicitors Mishcon de Reya indicating that they are in possession of important documents that the parliament should familiarise themselves with before making the final decision on the Icesave-bill.
Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, Chairman of the Progressive Party, said that the letter from the solicitors office came forward to Ossur Skarphedinsson, the Foreign Minister, in a special presentation of a report that Mishcon de Reya put together last spring. It has, however, been observed that certain information seems to have been removed from the presentation package by Svavar Gestsson, Chairman of the Icelandic negotiating committee, not wanting it to follow in the package to the foreign minister.
The information allegedly suppressed was Mischon de Reya’s evaluation of proceedings against the British Financial Supervisory Authority that may strengthen the position of Iceland in talks about the Icesave-issue.
“I think it is safe to say that any European government, proven guilty of hiding such information, after having been repeatedly asked if all available and relevant information was on the table would not be allowed to remain in control of parliament” said Sigmundur David.
Ossur Skarphedinsson, the Foreign Minister, said it was unfortunate that this information has been presented so late in the review of the case and that it is understandable that the opposition MPs need time to review it.
Ossur said he had not seen this information before, but that he had glanced it over that evening, both the letter from Mishcon de Reya and the additional information that according to Mischon de Reyja should have been presented to Ossur in London on the 31st March but was not.
In one section of the presentation there are speculations of certain possibilities that the Icelandic government might have the use of the Terrorist Act in its defence against Britain. Ossur said that this section dealt primarily with the opportunity of taking the matter to the European Human Rights Court.
Tags: British Solicitors, Budget Committee, European Government, Final Debate, Final Decision, Financial Supervisory Authority, Foreign Minister, Last Spring, Mischon De Reya, Mishcon De Reya, Negotiating Committee, Ossur, Parliament, Possession, Presentation Package, Progressive Party, Solicitors Office, Speculations, Turmoil, Uproar
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Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
Strong reaction by the Norwegian government to the military Appeals Court decision in the DR Congo to uphold the death sentence ordered for two Norwegian citizens, has resulted in assurances by Congolese officials that the penalty will not be carried out.
The guarantee was made to Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, by his Congolese counterpart who also confirmed that any further appeals would be heard in the Kinshasa Supreme Court.
In September a military court in Kisangani found Joshua French, 27, and Tjostolv Moland, 28, guilty on charges of murder, weapons smuggling and spying for the Norwegian state. Last week the Kisangani appeals court once again sentenced both men to death and also ordered the payment of massive sums in compensation.
Gahr Store was highly critical of the decision at the time. “I react strongly to the new sentences in Kisangani, where two Norwegian citizens have again been sentenced to death. Norway opposes death sentences on principle, and I will as soon as possible again contact DR Congo’s Foreign Minister to convey this message,” he stated. Gahr Store also appealed to the DR Congo’s embassy in Stockholm which ultimately led to that country’s Justice Minister assuring him that the execution would not go ahead.
The two men have been detained in the DR Congo since May following the shooting of their driver in an alleged roadside ambush. The ex-military service had claimed they were touring the country with the possible aim of establishing a private security firm. They were arrested hundreds of kilometres from the scene of the murder and had not reported the incident.
Tags: Appeals Court, Assurances, Counterpart, Death Sentence, Death Sentences, Dr Congo, Foreign Minister, Justice Minister, Kilometres, Kinshasa, Mercenaries, Military Appeals, Military Court, Military Service, Murder Weapons, Norwegian Government, Norwegian State, Private Security, Security Firm, Strong Reaction
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Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphédinsson attended a meeting with the EEA Council in Brussels on Monday and meetings with the Committee of Members of Parliament of the EFTA Countries (CMP).
Tags: Brussels, Eea, Efta Countries, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister, Iceland, Members Of Parliament, Parliament
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