The EU Commission has criticised three member states for continuing to run their citizenship-by-investment schemes.
Justice commissioner Didier Reynders urged Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Malta to phase out these programmes, during a video-hearing of the committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs (Libe).
“EU citizenship is a collection of shared rights that all member states provide in solidarity,” Reynders said.
“Together, member states create the conditions to enjoy EU citizenship. The Commission continues to monitor the developments in the three member states very closely, and it takes this occasion to re-iterate that this crisis [the covid-19 pandemic] and its impact must not be used as a reason to operate risky EU citizenship schemes.
“On the contrary, I fear that the risk identified around these schemes can have a negative impact on other investments that will be key for the economic recovery of member states and the EU as a whole,” he added.
National vs international concerns
According to Maltese newspaper Times of Malta, the Commission recommended the three countries “phase out” the citizenship-by-investment schemes in its letter to the respective governments.
Reynders acknowledged that the matter is of national concern; but it has serious repercussions, including money laundering and corruption risks, for the wider European Union.
He added that the Commission was in talks with the three countries to assess the possible evolution of these programmes.
This is not the first time the EU has targeted these investment schemes, as it urged member states to terminate them in March 2019; with commissioner for justice Vera Jourova deeming them a “security threat” in 2018.
Latest figures by international citizenship- and-residence-by-investment advisory firm Henley & Partners show that, prior to covid-19 becoming a pandemic, there was a surge in applications for these investment schemes.
Portugal, for instance, saw a 25% increase in interest in Q1 2020, with actual applications rising by 50% compared to the same period in 2019.
