Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.04.2012, Síða 15

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Lögberg-Heimskringla • 1. apríl 2012 • 15
Iceland-France polar
collaboration decided
State Radio News – At
a recent meeting in Paris
between Foreign Minister Össur
Skarphéðinsson (SDA) and
France’s Foreign Minister Alain
Juppé, the two countries decided
to greatly increase collaboration
on polar exploration. France
will offer Icelandic scientists
assistance at their research centres
in Svalbard and Antarctica.
Also, French specialists will be
sent to Akureyri (NE-Iceland)
to work on Arctic research.
The two countries also want to
increase cooperation between
the University of Akureyri
and Institut Curie in Paris.
In particular, Icelanders will
be invited to participate in a
major project on the economic
and social impact of climate
change in the Arctic region. At
their meeting, Skarphéðinsson
reviewed Iceland’s revitalization
after the economic collapse and
thanked France for its support of
Iceland’s economic plan at the
International Monetary Fund.
He also reviewed Iceland’s
perspective in the Icesave dispute
and explained how collections
from Landsbanki’s bankruptcy
estate would meet priority
claims. The ministers also
discussed Icelanders’ options in
currency affairs, and it emerged
that the French foreign minister
regarded the euro as clearly
the best option for Iceland.
Skarphéðinsson described the
status of discussions between
Iceland and the EU and explained
the importance of fisheries
affairs for Icelandic finances and
the national psyche. He said that
it was Iceland’s emphatic desire
to initiate economic discussions
on fisheries affairs as soon as
possible. The French minister
agreed that, up to now, the
discussions had gone well.
Downsizing banks was hopeless
Morgunblaðið – According
to the testimony of three
witnesses testifying before
the Impeachment Court, it
is unrealistic to suppose that
the Government could have
intervened in 2008 to downsize
the banking system by pressuring
the banks to sell assets and thus
scale down their operations. This
was the conclusion of former
Chairman of the Board of the
Financial Supervisory Authority
(FSA), Iceland, Jón Sigurðsson,
former Secretary General of the
Ministry of Finance Bolli Þór
Bollason and Managing Director
of the Office of the Board of
Directors of the Central Bank
of Iceland Jón Þ. Sigurgeirsson.
All of them agreed that the
market conditions then would
not have allowed such sales,
which would have expedited
the fall of the banks. Sigurðsson
and Bollason also detailed
various deficiencies regarding
transferring the Icesave accounts
out of Iceland. Furthermore,
Sigurðsson pointed out the lack
of statutory authority to do so.
Sigurgeirsson said that foreign
parties had already hedged their
bets against Icelandic banks
in the fall of 2005. In 2008 the
consultative group on financial
stability had limited information
on the assets of individual
banks. FSA, on the other hand,
had access to information on the
banks’ loans and assets but did
not regard itself as authorized
to disseminate them to the
consultative group, according
to former Secretary General of
the Ministry of Finance Baldur
Guðlaugsson.
IMF became LGP’s best friend
mbl.is – Independent MP
Lilja Mósesdóttir (formerly
MP-Leftist Green Party), who
is chairman of Solidarity, a new
party of democracy and welfare,
said that right and left were
obsolete concepts in politics.
This is true not only in Iceland but
also in other parts of the world.
She said that she would not have
believed in advance that the LGP
(chaired by Minister of Economic
Affairs Steingrímur J. Sigfússon)
would be completely obedient to
the International Monetary Fund.
“Who would have believed
before the elections in 2009 that
the LGP, which calls itself a leftist
party, would completely comply
with the IMF, even to the point
of twice extending the agreement
with the agency?” she said in an
interview with Morgunblaðið.
Settlement in foreign currency on
the rise
State Radio News – More
than 260 Icelandic companies
prefer settling their accounts
in a foreign currency, rather
than the Icelandic króna. These
include nearly 40 fisheries
companies and seafood product
sales companies. Since settling
accounts was authorized several
years ago, the number of
companies taking this route has
increased greatly. They do this
to avoid the cost accompanying
fluctuations in the króna
exchange rate if most of their
income is in a foreign currency.
If the accounting of companies
and settlement are in the same
currency as their income, costly
and unfortunate impact on their
performance and equity ratio
from exchange-rate fluctuations
can be reduced. Most companies
settle in USD (155), but 143
settle in EUR. Some companies
settle in GBP and others in still
other currencies. Most of the
companies settling in a foreign
currency are holding companies
although 38 companies engaged
in fisheries or seafood product
sales settle their accounts in
a foreign currency. Nineteen
companies are related to flight
operations, and 17 companies
to financial services.
EU’s mackerel conditions
unacceptable
mbl.is – “We will in general
not tolerate the EU laying
down any conditions regarding
mackerel in negotiations
regarding the membership
process,” said Prime Minister
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (Social
Democratic Alliance) in
Alþingi. She was responding
to a query from Jón Bjarnason
(MP-Leftist Green Party)
regarding a resolution passed
by the European Parliament that
reiterates the EU’s demands in its
mackerel dispute with Iceland.
He said that the resolution
makes continuing discussions
or agreements conditional on
Iceland agreeing to conditions
set by the EU for resolving the
mackerel dispute, and moreover
that the resolution further
heightens the EU’s possibilities
for gaining influence on Arctic
regions after Iceland joins the
EU. Sigurðardóttir replied that
the role of Iceland and the
negotiators was to strive for
the most favourable conclusion
in all matters on behalf of
the Icelandic nation, and this
has been done non-stop since
negotiations began. She said
that the entire process was
progressing normally, with no
indications that the discussions
will be derailed in any way.
Regarding mackerel, Iceland
and its negotiation delegation
have dealt very firmly and
reasonably with the matter on
behalf of the Icelandic nation;
thus, nothing has been conceded
there. Iceland’s position
is that it is not acceptable
for the EU to impose any
conditions regarding mackerel
in negotiations generally on
membership process. “That is
our position, has always been
and will continue to be,” said
the PM.
Reprinted with permission
from INB published KOM PR
News from IcelaNd
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