Norway and Liechtenstein support Iceland in the Icesave-case

Yesterday, the time-limit for third parties to submit written observations in the Icesave-case expired. The governments of four states that are parties to the EEA Agreement submitted their observations: Liechtenstein, Norway, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Norway and Liechtenstein essentially support Iceland´s argument that the Deposit Guarantee Directive does not impose upon the State to provide financial contributions in the event that the funds of a deposit guarantee scheme prove insufficient to compensate investors.

The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, like the EFTA Surveillance Authority, argue that the Government is required to secure the result intended by the Directive, namely that the deposit-guarantee scheme should pay the sum of €20,000 to each investor in the event of their deposit(s) becoming unavailable. The Icelandic Government considers that these observations do not engage with its arguments. They also submit that Iceland has not demonstrated that the doctrine of force majeure applies in the situation in Iceland where 85% of the banking system collapsed.

None of the governments providing observations has chosen to comment on the EFTA Surveillance Authority´s arguments on non-domestic depositors having been discriminated against.

In Reykjavík, 16 May 2012.