The Chamber of Commerce has called for political consensus on the Individual Investor Programme - which provides for the sale of citizenship.

"Without wishing to enter into the arguments as to whether citizenship should be exchanged for a monetary consideration or otherwise, the Malta Chamber notes that the Programme as outlined and debated in Parliament continues to leave serious doubts and unanswered questions," it said.

It said its main concern centred around the programme’s impact on the country’s economic reputation.

"So far, successive administrations have, rightly so, gone through great lengths to protect the country’s reputation because its importance for future economic development was always recognized - especially in sensitive sectors such as financial services. The Malta Chamber believes that, as things stand, the programme can affect Malta’s reputation because it can raise questions about the soundness of the country’s fiscal and financial credibility. More importantly, the Chamber believes that Malta’s reputation can be tarnished by the unprecedented extreme positions taken by both sides in Parliament over a matter of such economic sensitivity," the Chamber said.

The Chamber said the roll out of the programme should not be rushed and the country’s political forces should seek common ground before proceeding any further.