Citizenship scheme should be discussed by Constitutional Convention – Franco Debono
Citizenship is constitutional issue ‘par excellence’ and sale of passports should have been subject to wide consultation, Franco Debono says.
The sale of Maltese citizenship through the Individual Investor Programme, should have been discussed and scrutinized by the people before becoming law, former MP Franco Debono has told MaltaToday.
Debono, now Commissioner for Laws and the coordinator of the Constitutional Convention, said that the law selling passports for €650,000 approved in the House should now be discussed by the convention, in the absence of a debate involving both MPs and civil society.
Expressing his concern on the IIP, Debono said: "If a Constitutional Convention is to be convened, the citizenship scheme should be the first item on the agenda since citizenship is a constitutional issue par excellence, and the plan is to have a wide cross-section of Maltese society represented within the convention."
Debono said the people should express their opinion through the convention, "especially considering the way events have evolved."
The Nationalist Opposition has mounted a strong protest against the IIP, claiming that it wanted the sale of citizenship to be tied to residence and a €5 million investment in the country.
Asked why citizenship could be a matter of concern to him, Debono said citizenship was "like the Constitution itself, language and the common heritage, one of the greatest unifying characteristics and symbols of a nation and its people."
Debono's concerns follow the announcement that government and the Opposition will be engaging in a new round of talks on the scheme, even though amendments to the law were passed in the House.
But Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is currently in Miami at a conference organised by IIP concessionaires Henley & Partners.
Talks between the government and the Opposition are set to start today, however PN leader Simon Busuttil made it clear that the party will not budge from its hardline stand unless the government drops the outright sale of citizenship from the equation.
On Friday, government said it would remove the secrecy clause however the Opposition said the move was not enough and insisted on the introduction of investment and residence requirements.
This week Muscat said he was prepared to hold fresh talks with the Opposition, hinting that the scheme's rules may be changed. While extending his arm and calling for consensus, Muscat added that he would not rule out a referendum on the matter if no consensus was reached.