(Icelandic government press release): The negotiation committee representing the Icelandic government met today with representatives of the UK and Dutch governments in the Icelandic embassy in London. At this meeting the negotiation committee presented a proposal for a new solution to the Icesave dispute, based on the agreement reached between government and opposition parties in the Icelandic parliament Althingi.
Heading the negotiation committee is US attorney Lee C. Buchheit. Other members of the committee are the Permanent Undersecretaries of the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs, Guðmundur Árnason og Einar Gunnarsson respectively, Icelandic attorneys Jóhannes Karl Sveinsson and Lárus Blöndal, the latter representing all the parliamentary opposition parties. They are advised by Donald J. Johnston, former Secretary-General of the OECD, as well as experts from the corporate advisory firm Hawkpoint and the international law office Ashurst.
Following the meeting the parties are assessing the situation.
The negotiating panel lead by the US Attorney Lee C. Buchheit with Mr.Donald J.Johnston, a former Sec. Gen. of the OECD who are also assisted by the experts of corporate firm Hawkpoint and the former law office of Ashurst, together with the composite team of the government and the opposition parties of Althing, we do hope you will be transparent and be able to negotiate a tripartite agreement fairly and firmly without duress. Do give due consideration to the Anti Terrorist law implementation which has aggravated the problem, interest rate too high is enslavement for generations to come at 5.6%, duration for payment too short, insurance of the said deposit/investment, that the said deposit/investment was not benefited by the majority in Iceland but by only a few and in Britain. Lots of relevant points to be considered for a common benefit. Lastly, please remember how the general population of Iceland has suffered, the old, disabled, sick, those dying, jobless, and all, all because of the gross negligence of the few or shall we wait for the referendum and let the people decide ? Whatever is it, so be it.
To Peter – London/Krakow:
If the agreement is voted down in the referendum, then we go back to the laws that were passed last August. If the UK/NL refuse to accept the agreement according to those laws, then the original June 5th agreements will have to be terminated, which will be much celebrated over here.
Then, absolutely NO payments can be authorized from Iceland, UNLESS a new agreement is agreed to and ratified by all parties. This will leave UK/NL with the Landsbanki foreign assets only and whatever other few assets they can legally seize outside Iceland. Not really a bad deal for us, so no rush on our side either. :-)
To Bromley86:
Well, one of the interesting issues regarding faster repayment is that a large part of the 1.0B Euros that has been recovered so far, is already deposited with Bank of England and DNB on their demand, and bears NO INTEREST.
For reference, see Chapter 6.6 Cash Management on page 39 and the pie chart on page 55 in this LBI report:
http://www.lbi.is/Uploads/document/LBI_report_on_moratorium_021209.pdf
One way to resolve this particular situation fairly, would be to NOT apply the 5.55% interest to TIF/Iceland on the money already deposited with BoE and DNB, as it is already a known fact, that it will all be paid out to UK/NL in the end anyway.
Well, one of the interesting issues regarding faster repayment is that a large part of the 1.0B Euros that has been recovered so far, is already deposited with Bank of England and DNB on their demand, and bears NO INTEREST.
For reference, see Chapter 6.6 Cash Management on page 39 and the pie chart on page 55 in this LBI report:
http://www.lbi.is/Uploads/document/LBI_report_on_moratorium_021209.pdf
One way to resolve this particular situation fairly, would be to NOT apply the 5.55% interest to TIF/Iceland on the money already deposited with BoE and DNB, as it is already a known fact, that it will all be paid out to UK/NL in the end anyway.
“Well, then we will just have to wait for the outcome of the referendum. The UK/NL will most likely not be very happy with the outcome, but if this is what they really want, then so be it.”
The outcome of the referendum is pretty immaterial to the UK/NL, the debt has to be paid and its gathering interest. Its not due to start being repaid for seven years anyway, so there is no rush.
As you say Bjarni.
The interesting thing for me was that the discussion points that have been mentioned in the media were the faster repayment (not sure how that’s legally or ethically possible) and the interest rate (naturally :) ).
No mention of the Ragnar Hall issue, the solution of which would automatically ensure that Iceland was full paid quicker, making the interest rate far less important. As an added bonus, it would also remove the need for the state to pay out any of the principal.
Very odd.
To Bromley86:
Well, then we will just have to wait for the outcome of the referendum. The UK/NL will most likely not be very happy with the outcome, but if this is what they really want, then so be it.
Short lived, apparently (although Google translate isn’t perfect):
the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have not agreed to take up new negotiations on Icesave . . . The next negotiating session with Britain and the Netherlands has not been placed on the agenda.
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=is&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.visir.is%2Farticle%2F20100216%2FFRETTIR01%2F803758163
“They did not close the door nor walk out, but neither did they receive our ideas with jubilation,” Icelandic Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson told Icelandic state television.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/02/15/business/business-uk-iceland-icesave.html
Reuters are obviously bothering to watch Icelandic TV to source their news, unlike everyone else who just reports that the discussions have started.
Alda’s take on the interview that was the likely source of the above:
[Sigfusson] looked pretty dejected and said British and Dutch negotiators had “not stormed out of the room and slammed the door,” but remarked that, “they weren’t exactly jubilant when they heard our proposals.”
http://icelandweatherreport.com/2010/02/icesave-starring-the-blob.html
Lets’s hope so. This issue needs to be put to rest.
It seems like it’ll be proper hard negotiations this time, in which case they should finally reach an agreement that’s fair to both sides.