Iceland's parliament wants the referendum on the controversial Icesave bill to be held before 6 March.

The referendum is necessary after President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson refused to sign a bill, narrowly approved on 31 December, which sets the terms of the payout of 3.8 billion euros to London and The Hague for reimbursing some 320,000 British and Dutch savers who lost money after the collapse of the Icesave bank. If the voters reject the law, Iceland will maintain an earlier law, endorsed in August, which has been rejected by the British and Dutch governments because it does not guarantee full repayment beyond the year 2024.

(Photo: Flickr / Siffa Guðný)