FACTBOX-Plans of new Icelandic government

Feb 1 - A minority centre-left coalition government took power in Iceland on Sunday after months of protests helped topple the former centre-right government.

The following are some of the points in the programme of the government, which is being formed by the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Party. The government will be in office until an election on April 25.

ECONOMY

-- The economic plan is based on the programme drawn up with the International Monetary Fund, under which Iceland won a $10 billion economic rescue

-- The government wants to explore "targeted measures" to reduce interest rates, at 18 percent, as soon as possible and set a schedule further to ease the currency restrictions imposed after the slide of the crown currency

-- The central bank board of governors will be replaced

-- A monetary policy commission will be set up to take decisions on the application of the central bank's instruments such as the interest rate, legal reserve requirements and rules on cash reserves

-- A new board for the FME bank sector supervisor will be appointed

EUROPEAN UNION

-- This government will not take Iceland into the EU, but parliament's committee on Europe will be mandated to complete its work on the analysis of the attitudes of interest groups to the European Union and it will produce a report by April 15. This will form part of the debate on whether or not to seek to enter the EU in the future.

-- The government will initiate changes of the constitution to allow referendums that would allow entry to the EU if people decided on it in the future.

-- The parties forming the government agree that membership of the EU will never be decided on without a national referendum.

HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESS

-- The government will present a bill to parliament in February on mortgage payment adjustment, the regularisation of foreign currency related loans and the postponement of forced sales of homes for up to six months

-- Housing loans with the old commercial banks will be transferred to the HFF state housing fund

-- A long-term programme for further addressing household indebtedness will be presented at the end of March

-- The government will review public works plans to favour projects that help the economy as a whole and which require large work forces

-- A special emergency project will be launched with measures that will counteract unemployment

THE BANKS

-- The government wants the valuation of the assets of the new state banks to be completed urgently and for uncertainty to be lifted related to claims due to deposit guarantees and to agreements with foreign and domestic creditors.

-- The government will set loan targets for the new banks for 2009 in order to stimulate the economy