A Victory for a Tiny Island Nation…
Something very interesting just happened in Europe… with big implications for anyone seeking citizenship in the European Union.
It has to do with Malta’s citizenship-by-investment (CBI) program. The Mediterranean island nation is the only one left in the EU that will give you a passport in exchange for a financial investment of some kind. Countries that used to do this, like Cyprus and Bulgaria, have backed down under threats from the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union based in Brussels.
The Commission has brought a case against Malta to the European Court of Justice—which will decide if Malta’s program goes against the EU constitution…
The European Commission’s position is that CBI programs violate Article 20 and Article 4(3) of the EU constitution. The former sets out the conditions for EU citizenship. The latter requires all EU members to cooperate sincerely with the others.
The EU’s specific beef is that Malta is granting its citizenship—and by extension, EU citizenship—to people who have no genuine link to the country. That dilutes the integrity of EU citizenship, making it a commodity. It also opens the door to individuals who are hostile to the region, or who have criminal backgrounds.
On October 4, EU Advocate General Michael Collins (a high-ranking advisor to the European Court of Justice) delivered an opinion about this issue.
He made two points that give hope to countries wanting to sell their citizenships…
First, he noted that the constitutional definition of EU citizenship doesn’t refer to “genuine links.” This requirement, he said, was made up by EU politicians after the fact, and has no binding force.
Second, he showed that Declaration No. 2 annexed to the Treaty on European Union reserves questions of nationality to member states. The EU has no role in this matter. On top of that, EU case law prohibits member states from imposing added criteria on nationalities granted by other states.
His conclusion was that member states have every right to sell their citizenship as long as they take steps to preserve its integrity through rigorous due diligence. He therefore recommended that the European Court of Justice dismiss the European Commission’s case against Malta.
This is quite a big deal. If the court rules that Malta’s program is compatible with existing EU law, one of two things could happen.
The first is that EU states agree to amend the Constitution to redefine the nature of EU citizenship, and grant member states the right to interfere in each other’s citizenship policies. This is highly unlikely, since it would require unanimity amongst member states.
The second possibility is that EU states rush to reestablish CBI programs or create new ones. Cyprus and Bulgaria have offered CBI in the past, but there’s nothing to stop others from joining the club. It’s not hard to see Hungary, for example, jumping on the bandwagon… especially given its rocky relationship with the EU. It would also embolden countries like Montenegro. Montenegro is applying for EU membership and cancelled its CBI program out of concern that it might be denied membership for that reason.
It’s not clear when the court is going to issue its final ruling. I’ll be keeping tabs on this issue, of course.
But for now… more pathways may soon open up for those with deep enough pockets to buy an EU passport.
Stay tuned.
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