| Author (Person) | Rettman, Andrew |
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| Series Title | EUObserver |
| Series Details | 16.01.14 |
| Publication Date | 16/01/2014 |
| Content Type | News |
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The European Commission and the European Parliament both criticised Malta over its passport sale scheme in January 2014. Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding led the criticism at a plenary debate in the European Parliament on the 15 January 2014. She noted that EU institutions have no legal power to stop Malta. But she said the scheme violated a basic principle of 'international law' that governments should only grant nationality to people with a 'genuine connection to the country in question'. EU citizenship must not have a 'price tag' attached to it, said the European Parliament in a Resolution voted on the 16 January 2014. Members of the European Parliament were concerned about schemes established by various EU member states and in particular Malta, which resulted in the sale of national, and hence EU, citizenship. The European Parliament called on the European Commission to state clearly whether these schemes respected the letter and spirit of the EU treaties and EU rules on non-discrimination. EUObserver reported on the 23 January 2014 that the European Commission was laying the groundwork for a legal challenge to Malta’s passport sale scheme despite the EU treaty saying that decisions on granting citizenship were the prerogative of member states. |
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| Source Link | http://euobserver.com/justice/122744 |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, Malta |
