News

Amending bill of legislation on liberalisation of capital controls on offshore króna holders and implementation of special reserve requirement on capital inflows

This morning the Government agreed to present to Parliament a bill of legislation from the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, which provides for amendments to the Act on the Treatment of Króna-Denominated Assets Subject to Special Restrictions, no. 37/2016, and the Foreign Exchange Act, no. 87/1992.

Sendiherra Íslands afhendir trúnaðarbréf á Möltu

Þann 4. desember 2018 afhenti Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson, sendiherra, forsætisráðherra Möltu trúnaðarbréf sitt sem sendiherra Íslands á Möltu með aðsetur í London.

Ráðherrafundur ÖSE í Milano, Ítalíu, 6.-7. desember 2018.

Government of Iceland celebrated the centenary of Iceland as a sovereign country

On 1 December 2018, the Government of Iceland celebrated the centenary of Iceland as a sovereign country. Cultural events and exhibits in Reykjavik and around Iceland were open to the public.

Íslendingar í Vínarborg héldu upp á 100 ára afmæli fullveldis Íslands 1. desember 2018 í boði Guðna Bragasonar fastafulltrúa.

Vel heppnuð hátíðahöld þann 1. desember á Norðurbryggju.

Prime Minister's address at the celebration of Iceland's one-hundredth anniversary of sovereignty

Prime Minister's address at the opening ceremony of Iceland's one-hundredth anniversary of sovereignty

Fjölbreytt dagskrá í Kaupmannahöfn á aldarafmæli fullveldisins

Vegleg dagskrá verður á Norðurbryggju um helgina til þess að fagna því að á laugardaginn er 100 ára Fullveldisafmæli Íslands. Sendiráðið hvetur fólk að líta við

Iceland PM convenes a first of many high-level roundtable in historic Höfði House, Reykjavík, calling for peaceful solutions to armed conflict and the protection of universal human rights

Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, convened a high-level roundtable of women leaders to discuss peace, security and sustainability in Höfði House today.

Treasury buys back bonds for ISK 24bn

This week the Treasury bought back its own bonds from the Central Bank of Iceland in the amount of ISK 24bn. The securities in question are nominal Treasury bonds in the RIKB 20, RIKB 22, RIKB 25, and RIKB 31 series (totalling ISK 22.5bn nominal value) and RIKS 21 (ISK 0.3bn nominal value). The trades are to be settled today.

IMF Executive Board completes Article IV Consultation on Iceland - Reports

Celebrating the Centenary of Independence and Sovereignty

On 1 December 2018, the Government of Iceland will host a cultural programme celebrating the centenary of Iceland as a sovereign country. The program will explore the past while focusing on the future.

HÁTT & LÁGT - Samtímalist frá Íslandi

Sýningin HÁTT & LÁGT samanstendur af verkum frá áttunda áratug síðstu aldar til dagsins í dag eftir tíu samtímalistamenn frá Íslandi sem vinna í ólíka miðla. Titillinni vísir til hinna óútreiknanlegu veðurskilyrða á Íslandi sem orsakast af hæðum og lægðum sem ganga á víxl yfir Norður-Atlantshafið.…

Minutes of the meeting of the Financial Stability Council on October 5 2018

Keynote address at a seminar on Security Challenges in Northern Europe

Progress of the Plan for Removal of Capital Controls

The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs today published a report on the progress of plans to remove restrictions on cross-border capital movements and foreign currency trading. The minister shall make a report on the progress public at six-month intervals until such restrictions are finally removed.

Réttindi íslenskra borgara í Bretlandi eftir Brexit

Undanfarna mánuði hefur Ísland átt í viðræðum við Bretland um að tryggja á gagnkvæmnisgrundvelli réttindi íslenskra ríkisborgara sem búa í Bretlandi.

Ísland mælir fyrir ÖSE-könnun á mannréttindabrotum á hinsegin-fólki í Tsjetsjeníu.

Ísland mælir fyrir ÖSE-könnun á mannréttindabrotum á hinsegin-fólki í Tsjetsjeníu.

Leaders of Iceland and the UK reach an agreement on residence rights after Brexit

The leaders of Iceland and the UK have agreed that Icelandic citizens in the UK and British citizens in Iceland will retain their residence rights after Brexit, even in the case of a no-deal with the EU.…

Iceland hosts annual NATO conference

This week, Iceland hosts the annual NATO conference on weapons of mass destruction, arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, Iceland‘s Minister for Foreign Affairs stressed the importance of disarmament and peace in his keynote speech.

Lokað 30. október

Sendiráðið verður lokað þriðjudaginn 30 október vegna starfsdags.

Utanríkisráðherra fundaði með breskum ráðamönnum um Brexit

Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson utanríkisráðherra átti í vikunni fundi með breskum ráðamönnum um framgang samninga vegna útgöngu Bretlands úr Evrópusambandinu.

Afmælishátíð íslenska hestsins fagnað í Danmörku

50 ára afmælishátíð Dansk Islandshesteforeing og 100 ára fullveldisafmæli Íslands fagnað í blíðskaparveðri í Kaupmannahöfn.

NATO Exercise Trident Juncture 2018 in Iceland

As an integral part of Trident Juncture 2018, several activities took place in Iceland last week with the participation of some one thousand troops, leading up to the main part of the exercise in Norway. Ten naval vessels docked in Reykjavik Harbour over the weekend for a pre-sail conference.

Government’s participation in the sixth Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík

The annual Arctic Circle Assembly took place at Harpa last week, attracting over 2,000 guests from over fifty countries. The assembly, led by Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson former President of Iceland, has become the world’s largest international gathering on the Arctic.…

Prime Minister's address at the opening of the Arctic Circle - October 19th 2018

Orkumál í brennidepli á ársfundi efnahags- og umhverfisvíddar ÖSE.

Samstarf einkafyrirtækja og hins opinbera á sviði orkumála var á meðal viðfangsefna á ársfundi efnahags- og umhverfisvíddar ÖSE (Economic and Environmental Dimension Meeting) 15. – 16. október 2018, í Vínarborg. Var fundurinn helgaður orkumálum, ekki síst endurnýjanlegri orku.

Fourth meeting of the Financial Stability Council in 2018

The fourth meeting of the Financial Stability Council in 2018 was held on Friday October 5th.

Government accounts 2017

The results of the Government accounts for 2017 have now been published and the accounts sent to Parliament. The accounts show a surplus of ISK 39bn, showing Iceland’s strong fiscal position. Revenues totalled ISK 783bn and operating expenditures ISK 711bn. Net financial expense was negative in the amount of ISK 74bn, and the share in earnings of Government-owned companies was positive by ISK 40bn.…

Merger of Central Bank of Iceland and Financial Supervisory Authority in preparation - Inflation targeting to remain the principal objective of monetary policy

The Ministerial Committee on Economic Affairs and Restructuring of the Financial System has decided to commence a review of the statutory framework for monetary policy, macroprudential policy, and financial market supervision.

Málþing um Sambandslagasamninginn á milli Íslands og Danmerkur frá 1918

Sendiráð Íslands í Kaupmannahöfn og Kaupmannahafnarháskóli bjóða til málþings um Sambandslagasamninginn á milli Íslands og Danmerkur frá 1918 og þýðingu samningsins í sagnfræðilegum og lagalegum skilningi. Málþingið fer fram miðvikudaginn 10. október 2018 kl. 13:00.

Minister Thordarson visits United Nations, France and UK

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, is back from his visit to New York, where he attended the United Nations General Assembly. He then went on to France, where he met with Minister for Foreign Affairs of France, Jean-Yves Le Drian, and visited UNESCO and the OECD. He finished his tour in the UK where he met with UK Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt.

The 2008 Icelandic Bank Collapse: Foreign Factors

The 2008 Icelandic Bank Collapse: Foreign Factors. A report for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

Statement at the Carbon Neutrality Coalition (CNC) Inaugural High-Level Meeting, New York

IMF Article IV visit to Iceland 13 – 25 September 2018

A mission from the International Monetary Fund has issued the following concluding statement after a two week Article IV Consultation visit to Iceland. The mission met with representatives of government, the Central Bank, as well as representatives of financial institutions and the real sector.

Íslenska fyrirtækið CRI hlýtur verðlaun fyrir nýsköpun í þágu loftlagsverndar

Íslenska hátæknifyrirtækið Carbon Recycling International (CRI) hefur hlotið National Energy Globe Iceland umhverfisverðlaunin fyrir Emissions-to-Liquids (ETL) tæknilausn sína. Verðlaunin eru veitt fyrirtækjum og einstaklingum sem skarað hafa fram úr í umhverfismálum.

A Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking - Statement by the Minister

Intent to establish a sovereign wealth fund in Iceland

The authorities intend to establish a sovereign wealth fund, the National Fund of Iceland. The purpose of the Fund will primarily be to serve as a sort of disaster relief reserve for the nation, when the Treasury suffers a financial blow in connection with severe, unforeseen shocks to the national economy, either due to a plunge in revenues or the cost of relief measures that the government has…

New Legislation on E-cigarettes Will Take Effect on 1 March 2019

A new Act on e-cigarettes and refillcontainers will take effect on 1 March 2019. The Act is based on the Bill presented by the Minister of Health on the import, marketing, use and safety of these products, and measures to prevent the use of e-cigarettes by children.

Iceland‘s first session as a member of the Human Rights Council

Yesterday was a historic day when Iceland attended the first session of the Human Rights Council since being elected to the Council this summer.

National Budget proposal 2019

The National Budget proposal for 2019 is being submitted to Parliament today. It is assumed that the overall Treasury surplus will be 1% of year-2019 GDP, or approximately ISK 29bn.

Iceland launches new Climate Strategy, boosting efforts to reach Paris goals

The Icelandic Government today announced a new Climate Strategy, intended to boost efforts in cutting net emissions. The new measures are to help Iceland meet its Paris Agreement targets for 2030 and reach the government‘s ambitious aim to make Iceland carbon neutral before 2040.

Legislation Adopted on Presumed Consent for Organ Donation

Following an amendment to the Act on Organ Donation adopted by the Icelandic parliament Althingi, in the future a deceased person will be presumed to have consented to cadaveric organ donation unless otherwise indicated. The amendment will take effect on 1 January 2019.

Care Quality Inspectorate for Social Services and Child Protection

This is the name of a new agency, established by a decision of the Minister of Social Affairs and Equality, which commenced work in May 2018. Initially the Inspectorate will be responsible for administrative tasks and monitoring of social services provided by local authorities, by public bodies or on a contract basis, as well as supervision of specific aspects of child protection.

Þrjú íslensk gallerí meðal þátttakenda á Chart Art Fair 2018

Þrjú íslensk gallerí taka þátt í listamessunni Chart Art Fair 2018 sem að fram fer í Charlottenborg í næstu viku, BERG Contemporary, Gallery i8 og Hverfisgallerí, en á listamessuna er einungis boðið framúrskarandi norrænum galleríum.

Sendiráðið lokað 6. ágúst

Sendiráð Íslands í Kaupmannahöfn er lokað mánudaginn 6. ágúst, vegna frídags verslunarmanna. Sendiráðið opnar aftur þriðjudaginn 7. ágúst kl. 9.

Minutes of the meeting of the Financial Stability Council on June 26 2018

Moody’s changes Iceland’s outlook to positive from stable and affirms A3 ratings

Moody’s Investors Service has today changed the Government of Iceland's sovereign rating outlook to positive from stable and affirmed Iceland’s A3 long-term issuer rating.