Financial operations and the so-called financial Vikings' risky speculation has led to a crisis that is now felt by millions of people, say the Left-wing Green Group in the Nordic Council.

Iceland's population is among the hardest hit and therefore it may add extra weight to the proposal that it is being launched in Iceland.

"The actions that led to the crisis were international. But cleaning up after the crisis is national and affects innocent people's way of life. It is not fair and therefore the tax on speculation is a step in the direction to prevent a similar crisis hitting our community again", says Högni Hoydal, Faroese member of the Nordic Council for the Left-wing Green Group (VSG).

The VSG are therefore urging the Nordic governments to introduce a Nordic tax on cross-border financial transactions, a so-called Tobin Tax, an instrument that has been discussed in many international forums.

The Tobin Tax is named after economist James Tobin who suggested a global tax on foreign exchange transactions in the 1970s. Since then the concept has been expanded to include all international financial transactions.

The case has been taken up by the Council's Business and Industry Committee, which will discuss the proposal at its upcoming meetings.

Björg Eva Erlendsdottír +354 896 1222 beva@althingi.is