The amendments were introduced in response to the judgement of the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") in European Commission v. Republic of Malta (C-181/23) delivered earlier this year, concerning the Granting of Citizenship for Exceptional Services programme. The outcome of these proceedings surprised many academics and legal practitioners, particularly due to the diverging views between Attorney General Collins' legal opinion and the court's final ruling. The ECJ found the Maltese programme to undermine the principles of solidarity and sincere cooperation. As a result, the Republic of Malta had to align its citizenship legislation with the findings of the ECJ and, in particular, had to shift away from a commercial/transactional approach.
By virtue of the Citizenship Amendment Act, all references to the Granting of Citizenship for Exceptional Services programme and the associated transactions have been removed. This is in line with the rationale of the ECJ, which stipulated that the granting of Maltese citizenship "in the absence of a genuine link of the applicants with the country, in exchange for predetermined payments or investments" violated Malta's obligations under article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Moreover, the Citizenship Amendment Act reflects a clear intention to move towards merit-based citizenship, with a particular focus on those individuals "who render exceptional services or who make an exceptional contribution, including through job creation, to the Republic of Malta or to humanity, or whose naturalisation is of exceptional interest to the Republic of Malta". This seems to indicate that citizenship will be granted on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the exceptional nature of the applicants and their contribution to the national interest of the Republic of Malta. In particular, the wording of the Citizenship Amendment Act places an emphasis on the need for added value.
Notably, the Citizenship Amendment Act has removed all references to agents. Therefore, whilst in the past an applicant seeking naturalisation as a citizen of Malta under the Granting of Citizenship for Exceptional Services programme was required to submit an application through a licensed agent, it seems that applicants will not require an agent going forward.
Ultimately, the Citizenship Amendment Act aligns national legislation with the findings of the ECJ in C-181/23, whilst reaffirming Malta's national sovereignty to legislate on citizenship. In fact, the opinion of the Attorney General and ECJ affirmed that the conditions regulating the acquisition of citizenship, including the establishment of links with a Member State, remain the competence of that Member State.
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