They’re just trying to hoodwink the general public and make the scheme look halfway decent to those who don’t know any better, Ciccio. Don’t believe any of that extra investing stuff for a second. If it happens, it will be the exception, not the rule.

When you join the Foreign Legion, you are allowed to take on another name and change your identity, as a clean break with the past. After three years of service, or less if you are wounded in action, you can apply for French citizenship. Then you are re-assigned your real name, and that name and surname, together with the place of residence and the file number of the citizenship application, are published in the French Government Gazette.

Who told you she doesn’t already have a Maltese one?

At times you come across car dealers’ adverts selling, say, a ‘BMW X5 “ta’ Malta” to differentiate from the second hand cars imported from the UK or wherever. When presenting the Maltese passport you can always qualify it by saying that’s its a ‘Passaport ta’ Malta mill-originali’, jew Passaport ta’ Malta mill-Antiki.

Let’s go back and look at Muscat’s involvement at the EU parliament and this time as rapporteur:

This particular report highlights a number of areas which, even if since updated, the financial services industry as a whole could be looking at with more attention:

on Towards further consolidation in the financial services industry
(2006/2081(INI))
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Rapporteur: Joseph Muscat

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A6-2006-0170+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=en

…
F. whereas the role of EU and national policy makers is to set up a regulatory and supervisory framework that stimulates growth; improves the competitiveness of the EU’s economy; guarantees a level playing field; safeguards market efficiency, integrity, transparency and the stability of the financial system; and protects depositors, investors and insured persons,
…
2. Considers that consolidation in financial markets should not aim to reach a particular number of financial institutions and that it must be proportionate to competition in the financial markets;
…
9. Believes that diversity of financial institutions, which better reflects the variety of financing needs of corporate entities, SMEs and consumers, should be preserved and that, therefore, EC legislation should not favour any single type of business model or corporate structure or any single type of product over another
…
16. Points out that divergent national supervisory practices and standards may reduce market efficiency, increase the operating costs of those financial institutions operating across borders, and thus mitigate the beneficial effects of and ultimately fragmenting the single financial market;
…
The current level of concentration of markets, financial actors and infrastructures in the EU is high, and so is their interdependence. In this respect, in highly integrated financial markets, a crisis which could easily spread over national jurisdictions, turn into a pan-European financial crisis and ultimately hit the stability of the Euro and European economies, can not be efficiently tackled by national supervisory authorities acting on a solo basis anymore.
…
The current networks of national authorities of the 25 Member States comprise various supervisory and regulatory bodies with differing powers, responsibilities and level of involvement in crisis management, and the present supervisory arrangements and non-legally binding memoranda of understanding, are not adequate and sufficient to tackle a pan- European crisis caused by a failure of markets or systemically important cross-border financial conglomerates.

In this respect, European legislators should launch in-depth discussions on the appropriate structure of supervision of EU financial markets, clarification of powers and responsibilities between home and host supervisors and adequate crisis management procedures, and not wait for a major pan-European crisis.

In my thinking, Muscat has homed in on the loophole, or was helped to – and perhaps we should also not be shocked to consider: gave it the necessary slant.

These are the words I would delve into further with the European Union:

“cannot be efficiently tackled by national supervisory authorities acting on a solo basis anymore.”

Is the Maltese Government guaranteeing the “integrity, transparency and stability” of the financial system with its current intentions?

If the government really wanted the high net worth individuals to invest in Malta, it should have implemented a totally different scheme, that of granting Maltese citizenship through heavy investment in Malta and contribution to the Maltese economy.

By saying that the selling of passports would attract further investment, is only a Labour way of trying to impress the sheep that what they are doing is not as bad as some are trying to make it out to be.

Although a lot of us are not impressed by these statements, unfortunately, there are many who are.

Totally agree.

Unless the PN, and whoever has a voice, bombard the government constantly with pertinent questions, we are going to find ourselves in a very different Malta from the one we knew up till March.

On another point, in my opinion, the greatest tragedy in all this is the slow lane approach taken by the Opposition. Sorry to say this, but until now, it has proved to be toothless. Eddie Fenech Adami was never detered by the Mintoffian thugs in Parliament or outside it. The present Leader and the PN seem to have been detered by a ruling pronounced the Socialist Speaker against Dr. Busuttil.

Yes, you are right, and I am aware of this fact.

But the government’s intention is that it wants more than the passport money.

I was watching TV recently – can’t remember which program or channel it was – and the chairman of Identity Malta was saying that once a ‘foreigner’ is given a Maltese citizenship, the ‘foreigner’ could be contacted and ‘asked’ to make investments and contributions to Malta.

The government says it is after high net worth individuals.

http://www.independent.com.mt/mobile/2013-10-09/news/government-aiming-to-raise-30-million-next-year-from-citizenship-scheme-2839773184/

The point made by the chairman of Identity Malta is actually confirmed in this article:

http://www.independent.com.mt/mobile/2013-10-13/news/government-promises-most-rigorous-due-diligence-process-in-the-world-2873327616/

“But over and above this initial contribution, the high net worth individuals once they have gained Maltese citizenship could also be approached to bring new business to the country, potentially creating a promising ripple ‘Foreign’ Direct Investment effect. The potential here, the government believes, could far outstrip the €650,000 ‘contribution’ to the fund.”

To be honest, I can’t see how the government can chase after persons who have bought a Maltese passport and ask them to contribute to the Maltese economy, but this is a Labour government we are talking about.