Iceland Crisis

ICELAND CRISIS

INDEX:
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………... Pag.3 Iceland government and politics ……………………………….... ………..Pag. 42008 Financial crisis …………………………………………………………………….Pag.7
Causes ……………………………………………………………………………………………Pag.9
2010 and Current situation …………………………………………. .. ………Pag.10
Direct consequences of the Crisis ………………………............... Pag.12
Fall of the Kronaagainst the Euro ....................................... Pag.13

Iceland’s entry to the European Union ……………………… ……….Pag.15
Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………………Pag.16

Introduction

Iceland is a country in northern Europe, whose territory includes the Iceland Island and some adjacent small islands in the Atlantic Ocean, between the rest of Europe and Greenland.
It has apopulation of about 331 000 inhabitants and an area of ​​103 000 km².Iceland capital and largest city is Reykjavik, being home to some two-thirds of the national population.
Because of its location on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland is a country with high volcanic and geological activity, and this factor greatly affects the landscape of the Icelandic territory.

Iceland's official written andspoken language is Icelandic and the National Church of Iceland, a Lutheran body, is the state church, although Icelanders enjoy freedom of religion under the constitution.

Iceland has a free market economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries, while maintaining a Nordic welfare system providing universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens.
In recent years,Iceland has been one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. In 2010, it was ranked as the 17th most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index, and the fourth most productive country per capita.
In 2008, the nation's banking system systematically failed, causing significant economic contraction and political unrest.

On March 20, 2010 theseismic activity of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull led to a volcanic eruption. On April 14, 2010 volcanic eruption spewed ash several kilometers into the atmosphere that led to the closure of airspace over much of northern Europe from April 15, affecting the travel plans of millions of passengers. The airlines estimated that the volcanic cloud over 100,000 flights canceled, affecting 1.2 millionpassengers. Economic damages in a time of crisis were important, causing losses of millions of euros to the airlines and the tourism sector.

Iceland Government and Politics

Iceland officially became a Republic on June 17, 1944, with Sveinn Björnsson as the first president.
In 1946, occupation forces of the Allies withdrew from Iceland, which became a member of the Organization of the NorthAtlantic Treaty on 30 March 1949, provoking controversy and protests in some parts of the country. On May 5, 1951, the nation signed a defense agreement with the United States. U.S. troops returned remain there throughout the Cold War, until finally retiring Sept. 30, 2006.

The immediate postwar period was characterized by an unprecedented economic boom, caused by the industrialization of thefishing industry and the assistance offered by the Marshall Plan.

In 1994, the economy was diversified and liberalized when the country joined the European Economic Area.
Between 2003 and 2007, Iceland became its economy, previously based in the fishing industry, and became a nation that offered sophisticated financial services. A result, the country was quite affected by the crisis 2008,which has produced the largest migration in Iceland since 1887.
Besides the migration movement, the crisis produced disastrous consequences, a severe economic downturn and a drastic increase in unemployment, almost inexistent so far.

This set off continuing street protests, especially in the capital, Reykjavik.
On January 23, 2009 Conservative Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde, was forced...