16.2.2012   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 44/21

1.

declare that by failing to ensure payment of the minimum amount of compensation to Icesave depositors in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom provided for in Article 7(1) of the Act referred to at point 19a of Annex IX to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (Directive 94/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on deposit-guarantee schemes) within the time limits laid down in Article 10 of the Act, Iceland has failed to comply with the obligations resulting from that Act, in particular its Articles 3, 4, 7 and 10, and/or Article 4 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area;

and

2.

order Iceland to bear the costs.

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Directive 94/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 referred to at point 19a of Annex IX to the EEA Agreement, as amended, provides for minimum harmonised rules as regards deposit guarantee schemes. At the material time, Directive 94/19/EC was implemented into Icelandic law by Act No 98/1999 on Deposit Guarantees and Investor-Compensation Schemes. Under Directive 94/19/EC, deposit-guarantee schemes must cover the aggregate deposits of each depositor up to ECU/EUR 20 000 in the event of deposits being unavailable.

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In early October 2008, the Icelandic bank Landsbanki Íslands hf. collapsed and was taken over by the Icelandic State. The depositors in the foreign branches of Landsbanki (‘Icesave’) in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands lost access to their deposits.

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The EFTA Surveillance Authority submits that by failing to ensure payment of the minimum amount of compensation to Icesave depositors in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom within the time limits laid down in Directive 94/19/EC, Iceland has failed to comply with its obligations arising under Articles 3(1), 4(1), 7(1) and 10(1) of Directive 94/19/EC. Additionally or in the alternative, the EFTA Surveillance Authority submits that Iceland has breached the prohibition on discrimination on grounds of nationality under Article 4 of the EEA.