| Greinasafn |
2010 |
| Articles in English |
11.3.2010 ICELAND AND THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS. POLITICAL COMPLICATIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD 14.8.2009 ICELAND AND THE EUROPEAN UNION 8.8.2009 POLITICAL FIRST-AID? Iceland and EU 20.7.2009 ICELAND: FROM CRISIS TO RECOVERY |
| All articles in English |
11.3.2010
SOLIDARITY OF SMALL NATIONS
Erindi flutt á hátíđarsamkomu Háskólans í Vilníus, í tilefni ţess ađ í dag eru liđin 20 ár frá ţví ađ Seimas, ţing Litháa, lýsti yfir endurreistu sjálfstćđi sínu.
Lagđar voru fjórar spurningar fyrir höfund. Svörin far hér á eftir.
The attached lecture was given today at a seminar at the University of Vilnius on the occasion of the 20 year anniversary of the Seimas declaration of the restored independence of Lithuania.
The lecture covers the four questions asked by the organizers.
ICELAND AND THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS. POLITICAL COMPLICATIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD
A speech made at the Kalevi Sorsa Institude in Helsinki on the 7th of November, 2009
1. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES:
Since the fall, Icelanders are still debating whether they were the innocent victims of outside events or if they are themselves to blame for their misfortune. Although the international crisis (the fall of Lehman brothers) was the spark that ignited the fire, there is ample evidence to show that Iceland was headed for a fall. It was only a matter of time. 14.8.2009ICELAND AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
In her article: “Iceland – What can be Learnt from the Crash” – published in Le Monde, the Daily Telegraph and Aftenposten in Norway, August 1st, Madame Eva Joly, member of the European Parliament, pleads the case of the Icelandic people, based on the premise that they were innocent victims of events, beyond their control. 8.8.2009
POLITICAL FIRST-AID? Iceland and EU
Why should the European Union – or individual member states – worry about Iceland in her current distress? A country with a tiny population in the North Atlantic, on the margins, of Europe having fallen victim to an economic crash, which is beyond the nation’s means to recover from, on her own? Are there any interests involved, justifying that the EU should incur effort and expense – although a miniscule amount seen from the vantage point of Brussels – to help Iceland to recover from this major setback? 20.7.2009
ICELAND: FROM CRISIS TO RECOVERY
INTERVIEW WITH MR. JON BALDVIN HANNIBALSSON
BY WITOLD BOGDANSKY IN REYKJAVIK (JUNE 02, 2009).
The purpose of the interview is to present different opinions on present situation in Iceland, collapse of the Icelandic economy in 2008, issues such as membership of EU and EMU, economic situation, adoption of euro (or a different currency), NAFTA issue and others subjects.
23.4.2009
In memoriam: DR. GÍSLI REYNISSON, COUNSUL GENERAL IN RIGA
Once upon a time Riga was the jewel of the Swedish crown - was the biggest town of the Swedish empire – bigger and richer than Stockholm – and the most powerful commercial center of the Hanseatic merchant league along the Baltic Sea. Still, they spoke German on the Stock Exchange. 21.4.2009
DELORS´S BABY
The EEA-agreement is a product of the Cold War era. Five of us defined themselves as neutral or outside alliances. Two of us were NATO members, but suspicious of the European Union for different reasons. 4.1.2009
THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CRISIS: THE CASE OF ICELAND - ARE THERE LESSONS TO BE LEARNT
The text of this working-paper is an elaborated version of a lecture given by the author at a seminar held by the Faculty of Law and Economics of the Friedrich Schiller University at Jena in Türingen in Germany November 27, 2008. The text has been revised to bring it up to date as of end of year 2008.
The text of this working-paper is an elaborated version of a lecture given by the author at a seminar held by the Faculty of Law and Economics of the Friedrich Schiller University at Jena in Türingen in Germany November 27, 2008. The text has been revised to bring it up to date as of end of year 2008. 2.1.2008
A LETTER TO MR. KAZICKAS
Mr.Kazickas is an American of Lithuanian descent. He published his memoirs with an account of his involvement in the struggle for the restoration of Lithuania´s independence. According to Mr. Kazickas's story, Iceland´s role in support of the Baltic countries´ independence was explained as having been iniciated and orchestrated by the US through their ambassador in Reykjavik, Mr. Cobb. 28.9.2006
SMALL NATIONS IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION HOW ARE THEY DOING?
What is the status of small nations in the era of globalization? How are they doing? What are their prospects? Are they doing better or worse than the so called major states? Are they doing better or worse than they did in the 20th C; in the bi-polar world of the cold war or in the inter- war period, under the shadow of the totalitarian menace of military conquest?
As a former Minister for Foreign Affairs and an ambassador of a small state, Iceland, I wish to use this opportunity to share with you my thoughts on this subject. As citizens of a small state, celebrating the 15th anniversary of your restored independence, this is hopefully a matter of mutual interest. 25.6.2006
MISSIONARIES OR MUSEUM-KEEPERS?
Ráđstefna um guđleysi, ásamt Richard Dawkins, Kaffi Reykjavík.
During my happy student days at Edinburgh University in the early sixties (the 20ieth century, to be sure) I once had the opportunity to attend the Labour Party annual conference as a representative of a radical student organization. I still remember the opening ceremony as vividly as if it had happened yesterday. 12.3.2006
VILNIUS ROUND-TABLEWESTERN POLICIES TOWARDS THE RESTORATION OF INDEPENDENCE OG THE BALTIC COUNTRIES
Dear friends:
Once again congratulations from afar, from Reykjavík to Vilnius. I understand that you are commemorating the Seimas declaration of Lithuania´s restored independence, March 11, 1990. And assessing and evaluating the attitudes and policies of the Nordic countries towards those historical events across the Baltic Sea. It is high time that this important issue be studied objectively in a historical perspective. I wish you a fruitful discussion. 18.1.2006
WHY ARE SMALL NATIONS DOING SO WELL?
Why are some nations rich while others are poor?
How have some nations made it from poverty to prosperity –
while others have failed?
Why are many small nations outperforming many bigger
ones, in the international race to the top?
Why, indeed, is the majority of mankind entrapped in
exreme poverty, although we have the the knowledge,
technology and resources to end poverty in the lifetime of a
generation? 28.4.2005
THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Lorenzo di´Medici, whose family ran Florence in the 15th C. is credited with being the first person to coin the phrase “balance of power”. It is a principle that became one of the key foundations of the European disorder for five hundred years. The logic of the balance of power between competing nationstates led to a state of perpetual war in Europe and beyond. This has been the curse of European history. 21.4.2005
ICELAND´S ROLE
Sir:
In his article and accompanying interview 08.04.05 on the Council on Foreign Relations web page Mr. Uffe Elleman-Jensen, the former Danish Foreign Minister maintains:
(1) That he “moved forward alone” in restoring diplomatic relations with the Baltic states and by his action he made Denmark “the first country” to do so.
(2) That Iceland was somehow in a different position and therefore does not count in “the story”.
(3) That the Bush 1 administration was a stalwart supporter of the restoration of the Baltic countries when their fate was decided 1988-91.
I regret to say that on all counts Mr. Jensen is wrong. 1.1.2005
THE BALTIC ROAD TO FREEDOM: 1987-1991“BREAKING THE SILENCE” The issue of the Independence of the Baltic States on the International Agenda, 1987-1991
Fifteen years ago 35 Foreign Ministers of European States and North America gathered in Copenhagen to address the issue of human rights. The Conference was convened within the framework of the CSCE-process, as it was called in those days. 1.12.2003
TWO SUCCESS STORIES
At the end of the First World War - the war to end all wars - several new states emerged on the European scene. Among them were Finland and Iceland and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the Baltic shore. Their high hopes for their newly won independence were to be severely tested during the course of the 20ieth century - the most violent century in the history of mankind, so far.
Iceland achieved its independence from Denmark by a treaty that entered into force December 1st, 1918. That day has since been celebrated in Iceland as the “Day of Sovereignty”, although the remaining ties to the Danish king were not severed until 1944, when Iceland was finally declared a republic. That was done at Thingvellir - where the oldest Parliament in the world was founded - in the year 930. Today Icelanders therefore celebrate the 85th anniversary of their national sovereignty in the modern world.
| Nýjustu skilaboð |
| Erlingur Davíđsson 5.9.2010 21:06:59 Sćll Jón Baldvin, É... Ingólfur Margeirsson 5.9.2010 00:20:32 Kćri Jón! Takk fyrir... Kristinn 4.9.2010 23:35:16 Ég mćli međ ţví ađ ţ... Michael W 4.9.2010 01:34:36 Thanks -at least one... Kristinn M 31.8.2010 15:51:43 Sćll Jón Baldvin. M... |
