Today, the European Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion to Malta (INFR(2020)2301) regarding its investor citizenship scheme, also referred to as ‘golden passport’ scheme. The Commission considers that the granting of EU citizenship in return for pre-determined payments or investments, without any genuine link to the Member State concerned, is in breach of EU law.
European values are not for sale
Investor citizenship schemes undermine the essence of EU citizenship and have implications for the Union as a whole. Every person that holds the nationality of an EU Member State is at the same time an EU citizen. EU citizenship automatically gives the right to free movement, access to the EU internal market, and the right to vote and be elected in European and local elections. The inherent risks of such schemes have once again been highlighted in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. In its recommendation of 28 March, the Commission stressed that Member States still operating investor citizenship schemes need to terminate them immediately. The recommendation also calls Member States to ensure strong checks of investor residence schemes. Residence permits granted under such schemes to Russian or Belarusian nationals, who are subject to EU sanctions in connection to the war in Ukraine, should be withdrawn immediately.
Maltese ‘golden passport’ scheme
On 20 October 2020, the Commission decided to send a letter of formal notice to Malta asking to end its investor citizenship scheme and subsequently sent an additional letter of formal notice to Malta on 9 June 2021, following the introduction of a new scheme by Malta at the end of 2020.
Malta has recently suspended this new scheme for Russian and Belarusian nationals following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While this was a positive step, Malta continues to operate the scheme for all other nationals and did not express any intention to stop it. The Commission considers that such a scheme is in breach of the principle of sincere cooperation (Article 4(3) TEU) and infringes the very status of citizenship of the Union as laid down in the Treaties (Article 20 TFEU). Therefore, the Commission has decided to send Malta a reasoned opinion today.
Next steps
Malta now has two months to reply to the Commission’s reasoned opinion. If the reply is not satisfactory, the Commission may bring this matter before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
