Save Iceland from the slippery slope

In a call for solidarity between member states published in De Volkskrant, three economists condemn the "bailiff" attitude adopted by certain countries — in particular the UK and the Netherlands — with regard to Iceland, which is inundated with debtand struggling to rebuild its economy. They further note that "no country has ever paid debts on such a scale, and that Iceland will not be able to pay without borrowing — thus the current deadlock." The trio recommend that creditor countries adopt a pragmatic attitude that is more in tune with the principle of "European solidarity," and plead for a "realistic agreement " that will "kick-start growth." The signatories also draw a parallel with the situation of German in the 1930s: "As Keynes warned, Germany was unable to pay its debts to the Allies and was forced to seek loans, which aggravated its insolvent situation. Driven by despair, the population was only to eager to embrace the ideology of the extreme right. We do not yet know how the Iceland, Hungary and the Baltic countries are going to respond to their financial hardship. All we know is that together, we are responsible for the debts of the world economy and we need to get out of this together."