Malta's Golden Passport Programme Shelved by European Court

The European Court of Justice has ordered Malta to close its 'golden passport' programme for breaching EU laws. This programme allowed wealthy individuals to buy EU citizenship and was one of the last in Europe. Malta's decision follows earlier closures by Cyprus and Bulgaria.

The European Court of Justice delivered a ruling on Tuesday mandating Malta to terminate its 'golden passport' initiative, which the court deemed a violation of European Union law. This comes after Malta had already put the programme on hold for citizens from Russia and Belarus.

A Luxembourg judge clarified that the programme essentially commercializes the citizenship of a member state and, by extension, union citizenship. Malta, under this scheme allowing affluent individuals to purchase EU citizenship, was found to have failed to meet its EU obligations.

The European Commission previously launched infringement proceedings against both Malta and Cyprus in 2020 over their golden passport initiatives. After Cyprus and Bulgaria terminated their schemes in 2021 and 2022 respectively, Malta became one of the final holdouts in Europe. Originally conceived to generate revenue in nations financially strained in the wake of the 2009 financial crisis, such schemes faced widespread termination due to concerns over housing crises, potential for crime, and political tensions stemming from sanctions against Russian actions in Ukraine.

(With inputs from agencies.)