EP debates Malta’s golden passports scheme after European Court of Justice ruling

European Parliament Members on Wednesday debated Malta’s golden passport scheme following a ruling issued last week.

MEPs from different political groups, including Maltese MEPs, debated the scheme in a debate titled Malta's Golden Passport scheme circumventing EU sanctions against Russia.

In its ruling, the European Court of Justice ruled that Malta's citizenship for investments scheme amounts to the commercialisation of granting nationalities.

Nationalist MEP David Casa was first to speak, saying the scheme symbolised “greed, excess, bribery and amateurism”.

“We must also not forget government criticism against us [people who campaigned agains the scheme]. They called us traitors, and the pity is it took all these years to get to where we are now,” Casa said. “This is a victory for Malta and the Maltese.”

Casa called for more direct action by the European Commission over what he said was a crumbling rule of law.

The other Nationalist MEP to address the debate, Peter Agius, said the court decision is “obvious”.

“Did it need to take 11 years to realise Joseph Muscat and Robert Abela’s government are abusing the power?” Agius told MEPs. “Today’s discussion is not about passports, today’s debate is about frustration.”

Labour MEPs question Russia reference, defend scheme

Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba said Malta will respect the European court decision, but pointed out it goes against the opinion of both the Attorney General and the European Commission.

He also questioned why Russia was part of the debate, saying Malta had suspended applications for Russian and Belarusian applicants since 2022, “around 20 days before the European Commission direction.”

Agius Saliba also questioned why Austria was not part of the debate, saying it had a similar scheme to Malta.

MEP Thomas Bajada opened his speech by saying Malta was a small country with none to limited resources, and had suffered for many years due to that reality.

“This was a programme which saw investment in our communities in a programme which was approved by the commission and amended as neded,” he said.

MEP Daniel Attard said he was proud of the Maltese passport, “the fifth most powerful passport in the world.”

“It is a symbol of trust, and I am proud that Malta has the sovereign right to decide who to give a passport to,” he said.

He said citizenship and investment do not mean the scheme is incompatible with the law.

“This is not about the security of Europe, because if it was, we would be speaking about other countries who have the same scheme with less due diligence,” he said.

He labelled the debate a political theatre, with more serious issues like the situation in Palestine left on the side line.