Major Victory For Malta In EU Court Case Against Citizenship Scheme
European Court of Justice Advocate General Michael Collins has urged the court to dismiss the European Commission’s case against Malta over its citizenship-by-investment programme.
In what is already being described as a major development for EU citizenship law, Collins said that the Commission failed to prove that EU law requires the existence of a “genuine link” between an individual and a member state for citizenship to be granted other than that required by domestic law.
While the Advocate General’s opinion is non-binding, it is a huge shot in the arm for Malta, as the Commission centred its case on the non-existence of a “genuine link” between Malta and new citizens.
AG Collins said that an annex to the final act of the EU Treaty states that respective conceptions of nationality touch on the very essence of their sovereignty and national identity. It therefore follows that it is up to member states to determine who is entitled to be one of their nationals and, consequently, an EU citizen.
He stated that while member states might require proof of a genuine link under their domestic nationality law, EU law doesn’t define, much less require, the existence of such a link in order to obtain citizenship.
“The duty under EU law to recognise the nationality granted by another Member State is a mutual recognition of, and respect for, the sovereignty of each State and is not a means to undermine the exclusive competences that the Member States enjoy in this domain,” he said.
“There is no logical basis for the contention that because Member States are obliged to recognise nationality granted by other Member States, their nationality laws must contain any particular rule.”
“To find otherwise would upset the carefully crafted balance between national and EU citizenship in the Treaties and constitute a wholly unlawful erosion of Member States’ competence in a highly sensitive field which they have clearly decided to retain under their exclusive control.”