Legislation, which was designed to compensate government forced to bail out their savers with Icesave accounts following the country’s banking crisis, was approved by Iceland’s parliament in December. However, approval of the president is also required before it can be passed into law.
On Saturday, the President Grimsson received a petition calling for the bill to be vetoed. It was signed by almost a quarter of the country’s population. Those against the bill say that the Icelandic public are being forced to pay for the mistakes of the banks.
The compensation package ends up costing about $17,300 per Icelandic citizen.
"It is the job of the president of Iceland to make sure the nation's will is answered," said President Grimsson.
"I have decided... to take the new law to the nation. The referendum will take place as quickly as possible."
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