Icesave referendum set for early March

A bill to repay the £3.3bn debt was narrowly passed in December, but vetoed by President Olaf Ragnar Grimsson after approximately 60,000 people, almost a quarter of the electorate, signed a petition protesting against the bill and calling for a referendum on the issue. Both the British and Dutch governments have expressed anger at Grimsson's decision to submit the bill to a vote, and warn it will impact their support for Iceland's ambitions to join the European Union. When the bank collapsed in October 2008, approximately 320,000 British and Dutch savers lost money.