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Valetta castle: Maltese prime minister Robert Abela defended golden passports on Monday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

EU declares war on Malta and Cyprus passport sales

Cyprus and Malta are breaking EU law and facilitating crime by selling 'golden passports' to wealthy foreigners, the European Commission has said.

It cited chapter and verse of EU treaties on "sincere cooperation" and on the "integrity of EU citizenship" on Tuesday (21 October), while announcing legal action that could lead to fines.

"Granting citizenship for investment or other payments without a genuine link to the member state concerned undermines the essence of EU citizenshi...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

Valetta castle: Maltese prime minister Robert Abela defended golden passports on Monday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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