Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1534889
4 NEWS 4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 APRIL 2025 MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt MALTA'S citizenship by invest- ment scheme infringes EU law and amounts to "the commer- cialisation of the grant of nation- ality of a member state," and by extension, EU citizenship, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. In a ruling on Tuesday morn- ing, the ECJ ruled that the bond of nationality with a member state is based on a "relationship of solidarity, good faith and the reciprocity of rights and duties between the State and its citi- zens." By granting citizenship in ex- change for payments and in- vestments, Malta infringes these principles according to the bind- ing ruling. "Such 'commercial- isation' of citizenship is incom- patible with the basic concept of Union citizenship as defined by the Treaties." Malta's golden passport scheme was launched in 2014 and gave wealthy individuals the chance to obtain Maltese, and by extension EU citizenship in exchange for hefty payments and investments. The programme had attract- ed criticism from many, most notably the European Commis- sion which launched infringe- ment proceedings against Malta, claiming that the sale of EU citi- zenship "is incompatible with the principle of sincere cooperation." Last Sunday, the Financial Times revealed that at least sev- en Russian nationals who were targeted by sanctions following the Ukraine war have obtained Maltese citizenship through the scheme. According to the report, seven individuals who acquired Mal- tese citizenship were later sanc- tioned by the US, EU, or Ukraine in connection with the war. Fur- thermore, a total of 16 individ- uals either bought Maltese citi- zenship despite being politically exposed or ended up sanctioned or convicted later. In 2022, Malta suspended new Russian and Belarusian appli- cants from its scheme. Joseph Muscat describes ruling as 'a political sentence' In a statement, former prime minister Joseph Muscat de- scribed the ruling as a political sentence, claiming that the ECJ ruled despite knowing that EU law was not on its side. Muscat was prime minister at the time of the programme's in- ception. Muscat stated that there is still a way for the scheme to stay alive through tweaks, pointing towards the United States which has announced similar initiatives. 'Commercialisation of citizenship is incompatible Government to amend citizenship through investment GOVERNMENT has stated that it will study the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) ruling on Mal- ta's golden passport scheme so that it can bring the programme in line with the principles in the judgement. Earlier on Tuesday, the ECJ ruled that Malta's programme amounts to "the commercialisa- tion of the grant of nationality of a member state," and by exten- sion, EU citizenship. In response to the ruling, gov- ernment said that it "respects the decisions of the courts" and is currently analysing the legal implications of the ruling. "The regulatory framework on citizen- ship will then be brought in line with the principles outlined in the judgment," it added. According to government, it has "consistently expressed its firm intention to defend this framework," arguing that matters of citizenship "fall entirely with- in the national sphere of com- petence." Government said this stance has remained unchanged over the past four and a half years. In its statement, government expressed concern that the court "ignored the Advocate General's recommendation that there was no case against Malta" and in- stead examined other elements of the programme. It added that all decisions taken under the cur- rent and previous frameworks "remain valid." Further defending the pro- gramme, government outlined that it generated over €1.4 billion in revenue, explaining that this was used for various social pro- jects. Government blasted the op- position for doing "its utmost to cause maximum damage, par- ticularly at the European level, and to undermine our country's framework…" It called for national unity with regards to the coming steps to change the programme. Abela: 'We will continue to work in the interest of the Maltese and Gozitans' In his reaction to the Europe- an Court of Justice ruling, Prime Minister Robert Abela defended the citizenship by investment scheme, saying the country has benefited greatly and the govern- ment will ensure the framework is in line with the judgment Abela said the legislative frame- work for citizenship by invest- ment was created for the ben- efit of the Maltese and Gozitan people and had brought in close to €1.5 billion, which was used Government defends the citizenship through investment programme and blasts the opposition for doing 'its utmost to cause maximum damage' The European Court of Justice ruled that Malta's citizenship for investments scheme amounts to the commercialisation of granting nationalities • Joseph Muscat blasts 'those who work against Malta', calls ruling a 'political sentence'