The sale of citizenship continues to damage the country’s reputation and neither the Government nor the Opposition is willing to pull the plug on it, Malta’s green party said.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, ADPD leader Carmel Cacopardo, pointed out that the golden passports scheme “is intrinsically wrong and should be terminated immediately.”
Cacopardo highlighted that a green party member of parliament would have immediately presented a motion asking for its termination.
“No current MP is currently willing to submit such a motion,” he said.
He added “the fact that persons close to both the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party, including the current Prime Minister Robert Abela, have benefitted unashamedly from the sale of Maltese citizenship may explain why the government has been dragging its feet and continues to bring our country to disrepute worldwide.”
As regards the so-called 'necessary changes' to the 2014 original scheme which were carried out in 2020, Cacopardo said they were simply a case of window dressing.
“No matter how many changes are made to the passport sales scheme, this remains unacceptable in principle. As had been stated in the European Parliament report, EU citizenship is not for sale,” he said.
ADPD Deputy Chairperson Mario Mallia, pointed out that ADPD was the only political party in Malta that has consistently and unequivocally insisted, since the scheme’s launch in 2014, that granting EU citizenship against payment or investment is unacceptable.
"The government has obstinately carried on in spite that other countries have suspended and scrapped their schemes. This has led the European Commission to take Malta to the Court of Justice – which was another blow to our country’s reputation," insisted Mallia.
Cacopardo explained while there is consensus that citizenship is a matter within each member state’s competence, being part of the EU has its obligations.
“One such obligation emanating from the treaties is the principle of sincere cooperation, also referred to as the loyalty principle,” he underlined.
“It does not make sense to ignore the impacts of a decision taken by one country especially in those areas where such a decision can lead to rights being breached in other European Union member states,” he added.
The risks in selling citizenship
Mallia said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought to the fore the risks of the sale of citizenship.
The scheme had continued to attract persons who have been involved in tax evasion, money laundering and organized crime, Mallia explained.
A number of these had been identified and their names published after they had already purchased their new citizenship, he said.
Adding to this, the scheme has encouraged land speculation where vacant buildings stand in for so-called residences for people who rarely visit Malta, he pointed out.
“The basic principle is that citizenship and the protection and privileges that come with it should not be granted on the basis of their purchasing power,” he concluded.