No breakthrough in top level talks on citizenship

There was no breakthrough today in talks between Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil on the citizenship scheme, but Dr Busuttil said the talks will continue on Monday.

The prime minister said the two sides had agreed not to comment. He said the talks were near the end and the time for decisions was approaching.

The talks between the government and the opposition have been in progress for exactly a month, with the opposition insisting that the granting of citizenship should not be outright sale but should be linked to a period of residence or investment.

Last week both Dr Muscat and Dr Busuttil reported having made good progress. The government removed the secrecy provisions of the scheme - one of the key opposition demands - soon after the scheme was made part of the citizenship law. 

In its original form, the citizenship scheme had provided for outright sale of citizenship for €650,000, drawing the attention of the overseas media, most recently CNN.

The European Parliament is due to discuss the scheme at a plenary meeting on January 15.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/21/world/europe/malta-citizenship-program/index.html