The British government, “disappointed” by the outcome of the referendum on the bankruptcy consequences of the Icelandic bank Icesave, is considering whether to appeal in court to obtain reimbursement, said Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on Sunday.
“We tried to get a negotiated arrangement with Iceland” and “this agreement is now rejected. We are disappointed”, said Alexander for BBC. “We will discuss with our international partners starting with the Netherlands, which also requires a repayment from Iceland of 3.9 billion Euros. “It appears that this business will go to court,” added Alexander. “A judicial proceeding is pending in the European Economic Area”, he said, adding: “We’ll see how we could join it”.
The Netherlands is “very disappointed, the business is now in the hands of justice”, said Dutch Finance Minister Sunday, Jan Kees De Jager, after rejection of the agreement by Iceland that would have covered the repayment after the Icesave bank bankruptcy.
“Minister De Jager is very disappointed by the decision of the Icelandic people to not accept the agreement between Iceland, the Netherlands and Britain on the Icesave bank,” says the Dutch Ministry of Finance in a statement. “It is not good for both Iceland or the Netherlands”, added the communiqué.
“The negotiations stage is gone”, said Niels Redeker, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance. “The problem now lies solely in the hands of justice. Therefore, the procedure in the EFTA (European Free Trade Association) will resume”, he said, adding that it was halted during the negotiations with the Icelandic government. “The Authority has already ruled in our favor”, Redeker said, noting that, in 2010, it approved Netherlands’ arguments, under which it’s owed compensation from Iceland.
Icelanders have clearly rejected on Saturday the agreement to repay 3.9 billion Euros, required by London and Hague after Icesave bank bankruptcy in 2008, placing the cabinet in Rejkjavik in an embarrassing position. Of the 230,000 Icelanders voters called to the polls, 57.7% were against and only 42.3% voted for the agreement. After the bank failure, about 340,000 British and Dutch depositors were left without their savings, and the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were forced to compensate them.
In March 2010, Icelanders have already rejected, by 93%, a first version of this agreement, less favorable to Iceland. After this new refusal, the conflict could reach EFTA, which has the power to resolve this issue.