د . إAEDSRر . س

Adrian Delia Refuses To Be Consulted Over Citizenship Scheme, Says It Must Be Banned Outright

Article Featured Image

PN leader Adrian Delia has refused Prime Minister Robert Abela’s offer to be consulted over the appointment of a new regulator overseeing the Individual Investor Programme, stating his stance is that the citizenship scheme must be banned outright.

“This morning I informed Robert Abela that it’s time to scrap the cash-for-passports scheme which has left our country’s reputation in tatters,” Delia tweeted. “As Opposition and PN leader, I refused to be consulted on the appointment of the scheme’s regulator.”

Statistics from June 2019 show that Malta has raised a total of €1.2 billion since launching the IIP scheme, with a large chunk of the money passing into a sovereign wealth fund. It received a total of 1,742 citizenship applications, out of which 1,198 have been approved.

However, the island has faced a lot of pressure from the European Union and the Opposition to ban the scheme, with the European Commission’s vice-president Vera Jourova recently describing such schemes as “the monetisation of rights enjoyed by EU citizens”.

Abela has pledged to retain the IIP scheme but said he is open to tweaking its residence requirements.

READ NEXT: 'Unnecessary': Robert Abela Reacts To Tonight's Protest As Police Barriers Reappear In Valletta

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

You may also love

View All