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First Post
29-04-2025
- Business
- First Post
'Commercialisation of citizenship': Malta's ‘golden passport' is illegal, rules EU top court
Europe's highest court on Tuesday struck down Malta's controversial 'golden passport' programme, ruling that it breached EU law by allowing individuals to effectively buy citizenship through investment, according to a report read more Maltese passports are seen in this illustration taken April 29, 2025. Reuters File Europe's highest court on Tuesday struck down Malta's controversial 'golden passport' programme, ruling that it breached EU law by allowing individuals to effectively buy citizenship through investment. According to a Politico report, the European Commission had launched legal proceedings against Malta in 2022 over the scheme giving foreigners a Maltese — and therefore European Union — passport in exchange for a one-off investment of at least €600,000. In its ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union called the programme a 'commercialisation' of EU citizenship that undermined the principles of 'good faith' and 'mutual trust' among member states, added the report. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Though Malta suspended the scheme for Russian and Belarusian nationals after the Ukraine invasion, earlier beneficiaries reportedly included sanctioned Russian oligarchs, according to media reports. Malta's government said it would comply with Tuesday's ruling and update its laws accordingly, reported Politico, citing local media. 'As always, the government of Malta respects the decisions of the courts,' Politico quoted the government as saying in a statement. 'At this moment the legal implications of this judgment are being studied in detail, so that the regulatory framework on citizenship can then be brought in line with the principles outlined in the judgment,' the statement added. The Maltese government added that past recipients of the scheme would not be affected and said the scheme had raised hundreds of millions of euros. A spokesperson for the Commission welcomed the ruling. 'European citizenship is not for sale,' Politico quoted the spokesperson as saying on Tuesday. 'We expect Malta to comply with this decision and apply it accordingly,' the spokesperson added. The spokesperson urged the abolition of all similar citizenship-by-investment schemes across the EU. While Cyprus and Bulgaria have already discontinued their golden passport programmes —Cyprus even revoking several, mostly issued to Russian nationals — the court's ruling was welcomed by NGOs as a major step toward closing loopholes in EU citizenship policies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Today's judgment confirms that member states cannot commodify EU citizenship and operate reckless golden passport programmes,' Politico quoted Transparency International CEO Maíra Martini as saying in a statement. Former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who launched the golden passport scheme in 2014, dismissed Tuesday's court ruling as politically driven. In a Facebook post, he accused European Parliament President Roberta Metsola of 'working against our country.' Muscat is currently facing prosecution in Malta over alleged corruption. With inputs from agencies
Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- Times
Malta's golden passport scheme ruled illegal by European court
Malta's golden passport scheme violates European Union law by reducing the status of nationality and citizenship to a 'mere commercial transaction', according to a binding ruling by the bloc's court in Luxembourg. Malta's 'investor citizenship scheme' effectively sells passports, along with EU residency and travel rights, at the price of €600,000 after 36 months of residency or €750,000 after residing in the country for a year. The European Court of Justice ruled that Malta's scheme 'amounts to the commercialisation of the grant of nationality and, by extension, of union citizenship'. The court said in a statement: 'Malta has infringed EU law. A member state cannot grant its nationality — and indeed European citizenship — in exchange for predetermined payments or investments, as this essentially amounts to rendering the acquisition of nationality a mere commercial transaction.' Malta, the EU's smallest member state, introduced its golden passport scheme in 2013 and has allowed 96 individuals to buy citizenship, including at least seven Russian oligarchs on western sanctions blacklists. The scheme has gone from generating €1 million for Malta in 2017 to a projected €25 million after a barrage of sanctions against Russia since President Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The EU ruling sets a precedent for countries such as Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Ireland and Portugal that offer 'golden visas' in return for investment. Stepping into a sensitive area for national sovereignty, the EU court has decided that selling passports breaches a fundamental relationship between a state and nation, as well as undermining trust between European countries. 'Such a practice does not make it possible to establish the necessary bond of solidarity and good faith between a member state and its citizens, or to ensure mutual trust between the member states and thus constitutes a breach of the principle of sincere co-operation,' the court said. It is a landmark decision because the court's own legal adviser said last October that 'EU law does not define, much less require, the existence of' genuine bonds or links to a country 'in order to acquire or to retain nationality'. Joseph Muscat, the former Maltese prime minister who introduced the scheme, accused the EU judges of taking a 'political decision' that worked against Malta's national interests.
BBC News
29-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Malta's golden passport scheme breaks EU law, top court rules
Malta's so-called golden passport scheme that lets people become citizens through financial investment is contrary to European law, the EU's top court has EU commission took Malta to court in 2022 over the scheme, which grants foreigners a Maltese passport and thereby the right to live and work in any EU country in return for paying at least €600,000 (£509,619), buying or renting property of a certain value, and donating €10,000 to EU's Court of Justice said the scheme "amounts to rendering the acquisition of nationality a mere commercial transaction".Malta's government has not yet responded to the ruling, which former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called "political". He said he believed the scheme could continue with "some changes".The country risks hefty fines if it does not comply with the EU's Court of Justice said "the acquisition of Union citizenship cannot result from a commercial transaction."Malta has repeatedly insisted that it was correct in its interpretation of EU treaties, Reuters news agency 2022, it suspended the scheme for Russian and Belarusian nationals in the wake of Russia's invasion and Europe's crackdown on Kremlin-linked ruling goes against a report last October from the court's Advocate General at the time, Anthony Collins. He said the commission had failed to prove that EU law requires a "genuine link" between the person and the country to grant lawful citizenship, adding it is for each member state to decide who is "to be one of their nationals and, as a consequence, who is an EU citizen".Although each EU member state determines how they grant nationality, the court said Malta's scheme "jeopardises the mutual trust" between member EU has previously called on countries to end the practice, noting that investor citizenship schemes carried "inherent" security issues, as well as risks of money laundering, tax evasion and corruption.
The Guardian
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Malta's ‘golden passport' scheme ruled to be illegal by EU's top court
The European court of justice has ruled that Malta's 'golden passport' scheme is illegal, meaning its cash-for-citizenship programme must be scrapped. In a long-awaited ruling on Tuesday, the EU's top court concluded that Malta's investor citizenship scheme was contrary to EU law. Judges said the scheme represented a 'commercialisation of the grant of the nationality of a member state' and by extension EU citizenship, which was at odds with European law. Malta had jeopardised the mutual trust between EU member states necessary to create an area without internal borders, the court argued. The judges examined a 2020 scheme that allowed people who had given up to €750,000 to Malta and – in theory – spent 12 months in the country to gain citizenship. With a Maltese passport, the person gained EU citizenship and the freedom to live and work anywhere in the union. The scheme, which had its origins in a 2013 law, has long been criticised by transparency campaigners, who said it opened the door to money laundering, corruption and security risks. In 2021 a Guardian investigation found that multimillionaires with minimal genuine links to Malta were being granted citizenship, sometimes spending only three weeks in the country. A cache of emails from the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation shared with international media revealed that many people claiming to be residents left their Maltese rental properties empty. The European Commission launched legal proceedings against Malta and Cyprus in October 2020 for selling 'EU citizenship'. Cyprus announced it was closing its scheme shortly before the case was launched, but Malta's government was defiant. In submissions to the court it argued it had exclusive competence to grant nationality, so was entitled to run the scheme. Responding to the ruling, Malta's government said it was studying the legal implications, 'so that the regulatory framework on citizenship can then be brought in line with the principles outlined in the judgment'. But it also touted the benefits of the scheme, saying it had generated more than €1.4bn in revenues for the government since 2015. In a Facebook post, the former prime minister Joseph Muscat claimed the verdict was a political judgment. Muscat was the prime minister when the golden passport scheme was introduced. He resigned in 2020 in response to widespread anger over his perceived attempts – which he denies – to protect allies from an investigation into the 2017 murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Golden passport schemes sprang up across Europe as cash-strapped governments looked to raise money after the financial crisis. The British government announced in February 2022 that it was scrapping the UK's 'tier 1 investor visa' amid corruption and national security concerns and worsening relations with Russia. In contrast, Donald Trump announced in February he planned to launch a 'gold card' visa, a $5m residency permit for wealthy foreigners. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Matthew Caruana Galizia, the director of the foundation that works to secure his mother's public interest legacy, described the court judgment as 'a win for the people of Malta and for all EU residents who have been unfairly exposed to the whims of money launderers and corrupt criminals buying their way into the EU'. He urged the government 'to abolish its citizenship-by-investment programme without delay'. A European Commission spokesperson welcomed the court decision and called on Malta to implement the judgment: 'European citizenship is not for sale,' the spokesperson said. 'Investor citizenship schemes breach EU law and as such should be abolished by all member states.'
Hamilton Spectator
29-04-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
EU's top court orders end to Malta's ‘golden passport' program
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Court of Justice on Tuesday ordered Malta to close its 'golden passport' program, ruling that citizenship in EU countries cannot be sold. Programs that allow wealthy people to buy citizenship were once widespread in Europe, but they've been rolled back in recent years amid concerns that they facilitate transnational crime and sanctions evasion. The court said Malta's scheme broke EU law even after the Mediterranean island country made reforms. The program 'amounts to the commercialization of the grant of the nationality of a member state and by extension that of union citizenship,' a judge at the court in Luxembourg said. 'The acquisition of Union citizenship cannot result from a commercial transaction.' Malta 'failed to fulfill its obligations' to the European Union, the judge said. 'Such a practice does not make it possible to establish the necessary bond of solidarity and good faith between a Member State and its citizens, or to ensure mutual trust between the Member States and thus constitutes a breach of the principle of sincere cooperation,' the court wrote. The government of Malta said in a statement that it would respect the court's decision while examining the ruling's 'legal implications.' It defended the scheme, saying it has brought 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to the island nation since 2015. The ruling of the EU's top court was welcomed by transparency advocates but criticized by Maltese politicians. Joseph Muscat, the former Prime Minister who ushered in the program, posted on Facebook that the ruling was 'politically motivated' and that Malta's scheme should be reformed rather than scrapped. Before the ruling, Prime Minister Robert Abela told local newspaper the Times of Malta that the scheme was safe and beneficial. But the scheme did not benefit Malta, said Maltese journalist Matthew Caruana Galizia who welcomed the ruling as 'a win for the people of Malta and for all EU residents who have been unfairly exposed to the whims of money launderers and corrupt criminals buying their way into the EU.' Galizia, son of Daphne Caruana Galizia , a Maltese journalist focused on corruption who was killed by a bomb in 2017, called for the government of Malta to scrap the 'golden passport' program targeted in the ruling and to curtail its separate 'golden visa' program that grants Maltese residency to wealthy foreigners. Such programs were widely embraced across Europe and the United Kingdom, especially in the wake of the 2009 financial crisis. But in the following decade, most EU states scrapped their programs over their links to housing crises in Europe; fears of the programs' potential for white collar crime, corruption and money laundering; and security concerns following the 2018 Salisbury poisoning in the U.K. The European Commission launched infringement procedures against Malta and Cyprus in 2020 about their golden passport programs. After Cyprus in 2021 and Bulgaria in 2022 ended their programs, Malta was one of the last holdouts. Russia's invasion of Ukraine shone an increasingly harsh spotlight on the policies, which some say allow Russians linked to the conflict to skirt sanctions. The European Commission warned that some Russian or Belarusian citizens who are among the 877 individuals targeted by asset freezes and travel bans imposed since 2014, or who support the Russian invasion of its neighbor, might have acquired EU citizenship or had access to the Schengen area via these schemes. A 2023 report by corruption watchdog Transparency International found Russians under sanctions by Ukraine or linked otherwise to the war effort had opened companies in France using recently acquired passports from Malta. 'Countless cases have shown how these schemes have granted safe haven in the EU to corrupt actors from around the world and other suspicious individuals,' said Transparency's chief Maíra Martini. She said the ruling extends beyond Malta to halt any of the EU's 27 member states from running such schemes. The court ruling also comes shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to start a 'gold card' visa program that includes a potential pathway to U.S. citizenship for $5 million.
