REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The Icelandic Parliament approved legislation Friday to repay billions of dollars to British and Dutch depositors in the Icesave Bank, starting in seven years.
The bill authorizes repayment of $6 billion or about $20,000 for every man, woman and child in the thinly populated country, The Wall Street Journal reports. Once repayments start, stretched out over eight years and scheduled to begin in seven, they will amount to about half the country's current gross national product.
Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said the plan is "the single largest financial commitment ever undertaken by the government of Iceland."
Repayment is key to Iceland's plan to join the European Union and to get international financial aid.
The government hopes to seize assets from the failed Internet bank that will be used for the repayment.
Iceland negotiated the plan with Britain and the Netherlands in June. The two countries will lend Iceland the money to repay depositors and then be repaid with 5.55 percent interest.
The measure passed 34-14 with 14 lawmakers abstaining.
Iceland deregulated its banking system just as the global financial boom was heating up. Last year, the country's financial system went into free fall.
