Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.02.2019, Page 2

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2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • February 15 2019
Icelanders heaviest Internet
users in Europe
Morgunblaðið – Iceland is
still the country in Europe using
the Internet most. According
to sociologist Þorbjörn
Broddason, professor emeritus
at the University of Iceland,
the reasons for its status are
Icelandic society’s limited class
division, prosperity, and thirst
for innovation. “Even though
we may not close our eyes to
people’s different economic
circumstances – there are
things we truly need to address
– there are relatively small
social and financial domestic
differences. I think this affects
how innovations spread to all
groups,” he said. New figures
from Eurostat show that 99
percent of Icelanders between
the ages of 16 and 74 use the
Internet regularly. Close behind
Iceland are the Danes, at 98
percent). Ninety-one percent
of Icelanders use the Internet
for social media, but only
56 percent of people living
in the EU do so. Icelanders
are exceptional when asked
about listening to music on the
Internet. Eighty-one percent of
the above age group do so. Next
come Finns; 71 percent of them
listen to music on the Internet.
In addition, no nation uses the
Internet more than Icelanders
for email (95 percent do so).

More moved abroad last year
than came back
Kjarninn – More Icelanders
moved away from Iceland
last year than returned home.
There were 75 more Icelandic
citizens moving away than
those returning to the country,
according to figures from
Statistics Iceland. This occurred
despite good conditions, nearly
no unemployment, a huge
increase in purchasing power
,and the national economy’
s unprecedented favourable
conditions. At the same time
as the number of Icelandic
citizens dropped, the number of
foreign citizens moving to the
country continued to be high.
Altogether, their number grew
by about 6,560 in 2018.

Environment minister wants
to ban plastic bags
Kjarninn – Minister for
the Environment and Natural
Resources Guðmundur Ingi
Guðbrandsson has introduced a
parliamentary bill to amend the
act on hygiene and antipollution
measures to reduce the use of
plastic bags. The bill proposes
that all stores be forbidden to
supply carrying bags made of
plastic free of charge at sales
sites and that the added charge
shall be visible on sales slips. In
addition, the minister proposes
that supplying carrying bags
made of plastic shall be
forbidden completely as of July
1, 2021.
One million fewer
passengers expected in 2019
Frettablaðið – Estimates
call for the total number of
passengers going through
the Keflavík Airport to
decrease in 2019. This was
revealed in Isavia’s passenger
forecast. Estimates also call
for the percentage of transfer
passengers to decrease
compared to last year. The
forecast estimates that about
8.9 million passengers will go
through the airport this year.
This would be a decrease of
nearly one million passengers
compared to last year. About
9.8 million passengers went
through the airport in 2018.
Nevertheless, an increase is
possible in 2020. A passenger
forecast is usually released
before New Year’s, but the
uncertainty facing WOW
Air led to a two-month
postponement of the forecast.
This is the first time in 10 years
that a decrease in the number
of passengers has been forecast
(i.e., since 2009). Overall,
the number of passengers at
Keflavík has increased by 113
percent since 2010 and this
year’s decrease is not so bad,
given the recent uncertainty.
Only one in three support
road tolls
visir.is – A majority of
Icelanders (56.1 percent
of those asked) are either
somewhat or very opposed to
collecting road tolls to finance
the build-up of the transport
system’s most important
trunk routes, according to a
Zenter poll commissioned by
Frettablaðið. Only one out of
three respondents is somewhat
or very favourable towards the
idea. Minister of Transport and
Local Government Sigurður
Ingi Jóhannsson has presented
a new transportation plan for
the next 15 years to Alþingi.
It contains proposals for
introducing road tolls. Their
purpose is to both defray
foreseeable decreases in the
state’s income from special
fuel taxes and expedite urgent
repairs to and build-up of the
road system. “This seems to me
remarkably strong support for
road tolls, given that no details
are available,” said the transport
minister. “Likewise, in light
of this involving considerable
systemic changes.”
Will Brexit mean medicine
shortfalls in Iceland?
ruv.is – Importers of
medicinal products were
required report to the Icelandic
Medicinal Control Agency, by
February 6, whether there is
risk of shortages in medicinal
products when the United
Kingdom leave the European
Union on March 29. The agency
held a meeting last week with
market permit holders and
agents of medicinal product
manufacturers, as well as
representatives of pharmacies
and health care institutions.
After Brexit, Britain will not be
in the European Economic Area.
Britain will be classified as a
“third” country in agreements
on the manufacture of raw
materials and the importation
of prepared medicinal products.
Coast Guard agreement
renewed
mbl.is – Georg Kr.
Lárusson, director of Iceland’s
Coast Guard, and Admiral Tim
Lowe, acting chief executive
officer of the United Kingdom’s
Hydrographic Office (UKHO),
have signed a renewed bilateral
agreement on continuing
collaboration on marine chart
production. This agreement
addresses the exchange of
information and experience
related to the publication of
marine charts, according to a
statement from the Coast Guard.
It states that the goal of the
agreement it is also to increase
the safety of seafarers and
protection of the environment.
The Coast Guard and UKHO
have collaborated closely in this
area for more than two decades.
This has included training of
the Coast Guard’s employees,
communications with third
parties regarding copyright
matters, and distribution of
electronic marine charts.
Seventy refugees expected in
Iceland
Morgunblaðið – “We are
expecting a group of 70 people
this year, and preparations for
them are nearly finished. On
the other hand, we have not
set a final date, but this will
hopefully all be clarified in
the next several days,” said
Stefán Vagn Stefánsson, Chair
of the Refugees Council. He
was referring to the arrival of
Iceland’s quota of refugees.
This group consists of families
from Syria and LGBTQ people
currently in refugee camps in
Uganda. When asked, Stefán
said that the number of quota
refugees this year would be
more than previously. “They
will be slightly more than
before, in accordance with the
government’s decision on this
to accept more refugees here,
and we are simply working
according to that plan,” he said.
He added that the people would
go to either the metropolitan
area or rural areas.
Cyber Security Council
discusses Huawei
mbl.is – Iceland’s Cyber
Security Council, which
includes representatives
of the ministries and
government agencies, has
begun discussing the Chinese
telecommunications giant
Huawei. This follows in the
wake of many other countries
having banned or postponed
the set-up of the company’s 5G
equipment because of fear of the
Chinese government’s spying.
“The matter has been presented
and discussed in the Cyber
Security Council, which will
clearly continue monitoring the
matter and discussing it. This
discussion is confidential,”
said a written answer from the
Ministry of Transport and Local
Government to a query from
mbl.is. Hrafnkell V. Gíslason,
managing director of the Post
and Telecom Administration,
told Morgunblaðið that the
agency was consulting with
telecommunications companies
about how to respond.
PM says national referendum
on EU application would
have been better
visir.is – Prime Minister
Katrín Jakobsdóttir said that the
2009 decision of the coalition
government of the Left-Greens
and Social Democratic Alliance
had been mistaken. The
government then decided not
to hold a national referendum
before seeking admission
to the European Union and
thereby obtain the nation’s
will to apply. She also said
she considers it inadvisable to
launch another such application
without asking the nation’s
view first. Her comments were
made during question time in
Alþingi in response to Centre
Party leader Sigmundur Davíð
Gunnlaugsson, who asked the
prime minister to state Iceland’s
position on the EU.
Differences over scope of
constitutional review
kjarninn.is – Centre Party
Chair and former prime
minister Sigmundur Davíð
Gunnlaugsson endorsed the
statement of Minister of
Finance and Economic Affairs
Bjarni Benediktsson that a
comprehensive re-examination
of Iceland’s constitution was
unnecessary. However, Prime
Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir
stated at the same meeting that
she believes it important for
the committee of party chairs
to complete the project of re-
examining the constitution in
its entirety. The chairs of the
Reform Party, the People’s
Party, and the Progressive
Party agreed the PM’s
statement.
A year ago, the prime
minister appointed a committee
on the constitution in keeping
with her government’s coalition
agreement. The committee
consists of all party leaders. Its
declared goal is to re-examine
the entire constitution. Last
year, Bjarni said he thought it
unnecessary to re-examine the
entire Constitution. Rather,
it would be advisable to
work on the most important
provisions – natural resources,
the environment, national
referendums, and ceding
of sovereignty. He respects
differing views regarding this,
but he believes the group is
immersed in discussing points
that are irrelevant to what he
thinks necessary.
Reprinted with permission
from Icelandic News Briefs,
published by KOM PR.
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