President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson approved the new bill on the lowering of fishing tariffs passed by the parliament last week, as announced at a press conference at Bessastaðir, the presidential residence, a short time ago.
Archive photo: Páll Stefánsson/Iceland Review.
Ólafur Ragnar reasoned that the bill would not lead to significant changes in the use of Iceland’s marine resources and was not suitable for a referendum, ruv.is reports.
The bill has proved controversial and a petition with almost 35,000 signatures protesting the changes was presented to the president over the weekend. There was speculation that the president might veto the bill, referring it to a national referendum.
In his speech, the president urged parliament to achieve consensus with the public on fisheries, visir.is reports.
Related:
08.07.2013 | Fishing Tariff Petition Handed to President of Iceland
05.07.2013 | Icelandic Parliament Approves Bill to Lower Fishing Tariffs
ZR
