Cyprus and Malta must stop “selling” European citizenship to wealthy investors. This is the warning from the European Commission which is sending a new warning to the two states as part of the infringement procedure launched last October.
Countries are accused of granting their citizenship and, consequently, European citizenship, to wealthy investors. The “golden passport” scheme, in addition to being contrary to the principle of loyal cooperation between states enshrined in the Treaty on European Union, would have allowed the entry into the continent of people linked to the international crime and involved in money laundering and ‘tax evasion. According to the Times of Malta, the Cypriot government would have granted visas to non-EU citizens in exchange for the payment of 2.5 million euros each, generating a turnover of over 7 billion euros that would have gone into the coffers of the state. Malta, for its part, started selling passports to wealthy foreign citizens starting from 2014, meeting strong demand from mainly Russians, Chinese and Arabs.
After a first letter of formal notice that did not receive an adequate response, Brussels decided to move to the second phase with Cyprus, issuing a reasoned opinion, and to send a second and wider letter of formal notice to Malta, crime of establishing a new regime of gold passports late last year. Nicosia and Valletta now have two months to respond to the findings and take appropriate measures. However, the Maltese reaction to this new decision was not very conciliatory and Malta renewed its position arguing that the granting of citizenship is a matter for the member states and should remain so. Since 2014, the citizenships-for-investment scheme has brought Valletta a billion and a half dollars.