Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said this evening that the agreement which the government had reached with the European Commission on the citizenship scheme proved how the Nationalist Party had been right on this issue from the outset.
He said he was reserving his final position on the scheme until the full details of the amended scheme were published - noting that there were differences between what the prime minister had said and what the European Commission declared in its statement.
"The government has bowed to the insistence of the European Union after ignoring the Nationalist Party and the Maltese people," Dr Busuttil said at a press conference.
"Had the government listened from the outset instead of being stubborn, a lot of harm for the country would have been avoided."
Dr Busuttil said the PN had from the outset been insisting that there had to be a genuine link between the applicants for citizenship and the country, including a residence requirement.
That the scheme was being changed for the third time was a disgrace and showed the government's incompetence.
"This shows that the attitude and actions of the prime minister and the government were mistaken, harmful and avoidable," Dr Busuusttil said.
The government had been stubborn and only heeded Henley and Partners, whose only interest was to make a profit of €200 million.
"The changes made to the citizenship scheme have proved us right, but the price for the prime minster's stubbornness was a high one as the scheme has caused the country a lot of harm," Dr Busuttil said.
He said the talks between the government and the opposition on the scheme had failed because the government had not wanted to include any element of residence, something which it now had to accept after pressure from the EU.
He said one needed to see what the residence requirement actually meant. The European Union was saying there had to be effective residence for a year, while the Prime Minister had said applicants would not need to live here for a full year. That was why the PN was reserving judgement until the full details were published.
He said the PN position on withdrawing citizenship sold under the scheme would therefore remain until he saw the details of the agreement with the EU, and the differences between the EU statement and the prime minister's statement were explained.
The Opposition challenge to the legal notice and the proceedings in court would also remain until the necessary explanations were made, Dr Busuttil said.
PL REACTION
In a reaction, the Labour Party said no one could understand Dr Busuttil.
It said Dr Busuttil had tried to hinder, and he had unsuccessfully tried to incite the European Commission against Malta, but he had now ended up without a position.
He was unable to tell the people what he would do.