The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of ending the practice of EU countries selling citizenship and visas to the rich.
It comes in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with many wealthy Russians receiving EU passports in exchange for significant investments.
Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg voted on Wednesday with 595 in favor, 12 against and 74 abstentions to end the so-called “golden passport” systems.
They call for a complete ban on citizenship by 2025, but want significantly increased history checks to take effect immediately.
However, voting is not binding. It is now up to the European Commission to present a detailed proposal on how to terminate the systems and then the EU national government will have the final say on the matter.
“The system of gold passports and visas carries with it the inherent risks of tax evasion, corruption and money laundering.” “For too long oligarchs, criminals and corrupt politicians have been able to buy their way to Europe and launder their cash, image and identity,” said Saskia Bricmont, an MEP from the Greens in Belgium.
Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria are the EU countries with the most lucrative gold passport programs.
It is estimated that in the eight years to 2019, more than 20 billion euros of investments have entered EU countries in this way.
“The time to ask national governments well is over,” said Dutch MEP Sophie In’t Veldt during a debate in the European Parliament.[We need] the complete abolition of this process, not just to reduce it but to eliminate it altogether. “
Members of the European Parliament accepted in the report that the move would lead to shortfalls in national budgets and allowed for a phasing out.
Values for sale
The report on the Golden Passports has been circulating in the European Parliament for some time, but came to the fore when the plans were specifically mentioned in a joint EU statement with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. . States, in the immediate hours after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It is not known exactly how many Russian citizens have received EU passports through the schemes, but in April 2021 a leak of documents indicates that Malta issued passports in exchange for an investment of around 910,000 euros ($ 1 million) and that income amounted to 432 million euros. the country’s budget for 2018.
When the leak was discovered, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “European values are not for sale”.
Obtaining an EU passport allows the holder to travel freely within the EU Schengen area without borders, to have access to healthcare in all EU Member States, to live and work anywhere and also to enjoy the tax situation under its jurisdiction her country.
The damage was done
Last-minute amendments to the European Parliament report saw EU lawmakers demand an immediate end to the programs for Russians – other nationalities benefiting from them, such as Saudis and Chinese, would be phased out.
Many experts warn that while the move comes amid easing sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the oligarchs who support him, those who already have passports can not be expelled.
“The damage has been done,” Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, told DW. “But at least the war may have shamed the competent national governments to end this corrupt practice.”
The European Commission, which is drafting EU legislation, rejects the need for new rules to terminate gold passport systems, believing that the current legal position in the EU against them is clear.
EU Justice Commissioner Didier Raiders said at home in Strasbourg that the country should check the passports already issued and noted the legal proceedings launched against Malta and Cyprus in 2020 as proof that Brussels was already acting to end the systems.
Edited by Andreas Illmer
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