.png)
.png)
IIP | Brussels contemplating infringement proceedings against Malta
EU legal experts discuss whether there is a basis for infringement proceedings against Malta on citizenship scheme.
18 January 2014, 12:00am
Miriam Dalli
Miriam Dalli
1 min read
The European Commission's legal experts are discussing whether there is a basis for infringement proceedings against Malta, a spokesperson for European Commissioner Vivienne Reding told MaltaToday.
Reding, who was the EC's most vocal critic of Malta's citizenship programme, said she did not want the Commission to have the power to determine what constitutes nationality or the rules granting it. However, it still expected that member states be aware of the consequences of their decisions.
The infringement proceedings being contemplated by the Commission would be based on Article 4 of the EU Treaty, which deals with member states showing a "spirit of sincere cooperation" with each other.
"Malta might have had to consult other member states before proceeding with the IIP," Reding's spokesperson said.
On his part, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has insisted Malta did not break any laws with its Individual Investor Programme, as it was up to the member state to decide on how to award citizenship.
On Thursday, MEPs voted on a cross-party resolution that called on Malta to amend its citizenship-by-investment scheme, the Individual Investor Programme.
Of 626 MEPs in attendance, 560 voted in favour and only 22 voted against. 44 MEPs abstained.
MEPs debated the resolution on Wednesday in Strasbourg, delivering a tongue-lashing to Malta for selling Maltese, and consequently EU citizenship for €650,000 to non-EU nationals. The IIP also demands applicants to buy a property worth €350,000 and government stocks of €150,000.
But Malta, like any member state, retains the full right to determine its own citizenship rules. The non-binding resolution has legally no impact on the IIP.
Miriam Dalli joined MaltaToday.com.mt in 2010 becoming assistant editor f...
•
Exactly FXT, why isn't the Commission contemplating action against Austria, Portugal, Cyprus and other countries which have similar schemes? Why are they picking on us? Thanks to Simon for sounding the alarms with his networks, so selfish of him
•
ms reding should have been more on the lookout about the data protection issued which only came to the knowledge of the common people through the snowden leakage. were it not for this whistleblower the us would have remained spying on european leaders, governments, business and the public in general and reding who is responsible for this did just nothing.....shame on her for not performing her duties diligently.....she is trying to pick on a small country but was and is still helpless against giants
•
Even I am against sale of citizenship but the Malta Scheme is not a sale. A sale does not severely control the donors.
•
This interference in our internal affairs sows that it is time to start collecting signatures for a referendum to leave this despicable despotic corrupt colonial €USSR dictatorship.
•
At Better Future. You may or may not agree with Ms Reding but your 'joke' with her name is offensive. Your comment should have been withdrawn before publication.
Please do not show how base some people can be regarding political arguments on our little island!!
Grow up please and behave like an adult.
•
May I do the following comments:
1. If all this fuss has been raised against Malta, then WHY we never heard anything against those EU members with similar programmes?
2. Joseph, if you think you are doing something good for this country, JUST DO IT and let the people judge you when time comes.
3. Simon, the more I hear of you the more I distance myself from your cries. You might be "something" BUT not a politician, for sure. In five years time you will be smoke.
•
i don't think this will happen but in case it does, it will be very unfair with us. Firstly Malta has made a capping of 1800 applicants, while other countries although residency is needed doesn't have such quota. Besides countries such as Romania give about 10000 citizenship (i'm not sure if monthly or yearly) to Moldovan citizens. Portugal also gives citizenship if investment in property is done and no quota is present in it neither. If SIMON and his miserable team haven't provoked such havoc i am sure no one could have noticed of our scheme and the billion euros would have been in our coffers without much panic. But unfortunately the PN knows that with this scheme they have no minimal chance of getting back to power in less than 10/15 years time u tatom rashom msieken....i'm sure this will be a big boomerang for the PN that will soon come back their way in the Eu elections
•
i don't think this will happen but in case it does, it will be very unfair with us. Firstly Malta has made a capping of 1800 applicants, while other countries although residency is needed doesn't have such quota. Besides countries such as Romania give about 10000 citizenship (i'm not sure if monthly or yearly) to Moldovan citizens. Portugal also gives citizenship if investment in property is done and no quota is present in it neither. If SIMON and his miserable team haven't provoked such havoc i am sure no one could have noticed of our scheme and the billion euros would have been in our coffers without much panic. But unfortunately the PN knows that with this scheme they have no minimal chance of getting back to power in less than 10/15 years time u tatom rashom msieken....i'm sure this will be a big boomerang for the PN that will soon come back their way in the Eu elections
•
I think we should call a spade a spade and decide to get out of the EU and all its morons and its AXIS past and present. Vivienne Reding can take a running jump and see what her British counterparts are working on in terms of citizenship schemes in tandem with Malta. She and her cohorts can go to hell and take Malta's EU commissioner with them. They have betrayed the trust of the Maltese Nation and of its people. If all Malta gets out of the EU is 1.1 billion every 5 years, of which Malta pays back 0.6 billion, then Malta can go it alone with the citizenship scheme and get a lot more than the EU can ever provide Malta. And in the process they can have back all the illegal immigrants they have dumped on Malta as their frontier state.
•
Just look at note no 4. Those acquiring a Cypriot passport need only be there a day every 2 years.
http://www.mondaq.com/x/258868/general+immigration/Permanent+Residence+And+Citizenship+Gateway+To+Europe
•
Perhaps, ir-reda may inform us just where we went haywire in any particular treaty? Otherwise shove off, and concentrate on the business agenda EU citizens expect you to!
•
I'm sure that the Commission will not proceed against Malta as its legal advisers can't be that daft. There would be no way that the Court would rule against Malta. Malta has always shown a "spirit of sincere cooperation" with its EU partners, probably more than a bunch of our partners are reciprocating with! Nationality is clearly a national competence and Reding is trying to make some noise on her way out. New Commission will be apopinted this year and Reding won't be commissioner anymore. Her party is no longer in Government in Luxembourg.
•
Being a Moron I hae to answer the Intellectual - Mintoff had the balls to fight for what he believed in. Mintoff lifted the people from poverty. Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi did exactly the opposite. The Nationalist were hysterically pleased that under the Labour Governmenet we didn't struck oil (Eddie Fenech Adami) remembers this. Whn his party memebers wnet abroad to smear Malta's name. Now Simon is repeating what his predecessors EFA and LG, smearing our country just because they are in opposition. They don't know how to play fair and Labour MUST Learn from them. Don't extend you hands of friendship Joseph, they will never do it. If tomorrow they are in Power (God forbid) they will treat us like shit, the same they have done during the years of their REGIME. Go ahead, you're the Prim Minister and NOT SIMON. When the other PN Leaders where in Government they used to say the they are the PMs and they have to decide for the Nation. Go ahead and do the SAME Joseph, and prepare yourself for another at least 4 year of Calvary from the people chosen by god (they are the righteous and the Blessed)
•
If we were not in the E.U nobody will want to buy our Citezenship.It seems many morons can not understand or are too blinkered.Also a person who buys it can go anywhere in Europe.ALSO the ones who get it do not have to live here like it is in those countries you mentioned.Is it difficult to comprehend.I can see Mintoff too turning in his grave !
•
If we were not in the E.U nobody will want to buy our Citezenship.It seems many morons can not understand or are too blinkered.Also a person who buys it can go anywhere in Europe.ALSO the ones who get it do not have to live here like it is in those countries you mentioned.Is it difficult to comprehend.I can see Mintoff too turning in his grave !
Priscilla Darmenia •
“The non-binding resolution, which is likely to be adopted tomorrow, has legally no impact on the IIP.” – If the resolution is non-binding why did the PN delegates insisted in pushing the resolution ahead. What has the PN gained? NOTHING! They just pinpointed their OWN country’s name to be the laughing stock of the EU and the world. – In the next MEP elections I shall not vote for candidates of a party that will vote against Malta and Maltese interests.
•
Well, was Malta ever consulted by other member states before they introduced their citizenship schemes? Why pick on the smaller states? Are the bigger states immune to criticism? Are we becoming a colony once again, with our big brothers in Brussels dictating what to do and not to do? The famous ' Makku ' phrase comes to mind.
•
Is the EU Commissioner Ms Vivienne Reding unaware that her country is intending to introduce a programme to attract investment to U.K.? The British programme might differ from Malta's IIP but in the long last Mr David Cameron's intentions do not differ from those of Malta.
•
According to the list published by Malta Today- of countries offering Investment Schemes-Malta has been targeted unjustly as being the only country with such a scheme. To make things even worse, our Opposition leader- a veritable patriot like the Cardinal-did not point this out, and instead, his representatives at the European Parliament made it a point of targeting only their tiny country.
Now if Simon was sincere, and not simply malicious harming our interests because his party lost the elections and so he wants to punish the Maltese for doing so-he would have pointed out that not only Malta is organizing such schemes: but he did not; which means that his intentions were to cause as much harm as possible to our image. Ia min business and last week my friends abroad told me how come the Maltese opposition members spoke so passionately against their own mother country!
•
@briffy@Maltanet - jghamel bhal ma ghamel Lawrence Gonzi, jgholli il-kontijiet tad-dawl u l-ilma u taxi ohra, jghid lil _poplu li qed jara il-MALTEMP fuq l=orizzont u jiehu €500 fil gimgha huwa u shabu. Lil shabu li ma jiehudux il €500 fil-ghimgha ihallihom issiru korrotti u kullhad jisraq kemm jiflah il-miljuni min fuq dar il-poplu. Wara dan kollu jerga johrog Toni it-tik tok u jghidillna CWIECCCCCCCCCCCC ghal darba ohra.
•
Well, they didn't show any "spirit of sincere cooperation" in burden sharing.
joseph mercieca •
Are Mrs Reding and the commission contemplating action against Austria, Portugal, Cyprus and other countries which have similar schemes? Since the EU is run on capitalist principles how can anybody have consultations on a business venture with potential competitors. Did the other countries consult anybody? No.
Does Mrs Reding know that Rumania and Hungary both EU member states are giving away citizenship for free? These two countries are going to inundate the EU with migrants from outside the confines EU? How come Mrs Reding did not get her knickers in a knot and report these countries to the Commission?
Why is Mrs Reding picking on tiny Malta? Why not pick on Austria for example? Why us? I think the answer is that she is a bully and is spearheading the assault against Malta cocked up at by Simon Busuttil.
My message for Mrs Reding is to leave us in peace as the IIP IS NONE OR THE EU’S BUSINESS.
•
How fast can the EU be when it comes to take action against Malta! But on the other hand,EU took years and never came to a conclusion regarding the allocation of irregular immigrants in EU member states!
Is the EU repeating its stand to give its members an example with Malta again?
Micheal Bonanno •
@briffa@maltanet. Jaqaw hadt xi zball? Ghax safejn naf jien dawk l-affarijiet graw taht Gvern Nazzjonalista! Staqsi daqsxejn lil Zaren Vassallo. Nahseb itik xi ftit ezempji dak!
•
In the EU there are certain areas which are prerogative of individual countries. Let's for example take "taxation" - which is prerogative to each inidividual country.
We know that every EU country has its own regime of corporation tax, some are advantegous than others to attract investment.
My question is;
Have EU countries ever consulted each other or corporation tax? I don't think so!!
So why does Malta has to consult on IIP, when citizenship is exclusive to our national parliament?
•
Mela dawn il pajjizi tal EU jew il kummisjoni ha tiehu passi kontra Malta trid tiehu passi kontra diga min qieghed jghamila u kontra min ihalli certu zmien ta kemm proxmu jkun qatta go pajjiz biex isir cittadin ta pajjizu ghax ha jkun jista jibqa jdur go pajjizi tal EU. Kwazi hemn nofs il membri li tiep ta l IIP ghandom u kif ukoll ghamluha, kif ukoll qeda titwettaq din l-iskema . Mela jekk se jittiehdu passi jriedu jiehdu nkonsiderazzjoni fuq kull pajjiz li hemm membru tal EU. Malta ma tistax tkun hi biss li tissemma u tkun hi biss li tigi michuda mil IIP meta hawn mil anqas xi ghaxar pajjizi tal EU li ghandom l-istess forma ta skema tal IIP.
•
Apologies my ignorance here;
So citizenship is a matter for each country to decide. and on the same time, this mr Reding is saying that we ought to have consulted other countries?!
Is Mr Reding twisting logic here?
I thought the European Commission is a respectable organisation - with solid rules of plays - not just vindictive and twist rules to please.
There is only one way if EU wants to stop Malta - change the statute to restrict individual countries from awarding citizenship....
However that will not be easy, as other countries have their schemes as well!!
•
Xifajk...int taf x'int tghid jew le? Ma tafx li jekk Malta tohrog mill-EU il-passaport ta' Malta ma jiswix sold? Imbaghad JM minn fejn jigbor il-miljuni biex ihaxxen il-bwiet tan-nies tal-qalba?
•
Issa l pjan infami huwa car iktar minn qatt qabel. l iskop huwa biex iwaqqfu lil gvern milli jkompli jopera. Il maniggi huma l istess anke f setturi ohra. Hudu mil MUT perezempju wara laqgha mal PN irtiraw mil kumitat biex ikunu jistghu jghidu li ghandna gvern li ma jismax. Dawn tilfu b 36000 u mhux b'1500 u ghadhom jippretendu li jkomplu jmexxu huma. Dawn ghadhom jittamaw li se jaghmlu kif ghamlu fil-1998. Komplu oholmu !!!
•
U Malta qamet f'daqqa u ghajtet Jien Maltija, miskin min ikasbarni, miskin min jidhaq biha.
Ma nibqawx f' dan il-Klabb DISKRIMIATORJU. Naghmlu bhal l-Inglizi, naghmlu referendum biex nitilqu il-barra minn dan l-abbuz. ghaliex pajjizi ohra li ghamlu hekk qabilna ma gara xejn? Mela sewwa nghid l-ewwel wiehed jien li Malta taghna qed isservi bhala il-mizbla ta l-ewropa u biex l-ewropa tuzana bhala l-guinea pig ghal pajjizi ohra.
LE GHAL L-EWROPA - EJJEW NIGBRU IL-FIREM HALLI NOHORGU MIN DAWN IL-GZIZIJIET.
