“The connection between this issue and ’10,000 jobs on the line’ escapes me” – there’s this thing called the financial services industry, and it’s more than slightly dependent on reputation and treaties with other countries…

“wealthy American citizens are fleeing the IRS (and the imminent dollar collapse) in droves” – er, what prevents Americans from simply holding foreign currency? What capital controls prevent them from transferring their funds overseas? Americans do not need a new citizenship to escape a (hypothetical) collapsing dollar.

As regards “subordinating Maltese citizenship to that of the E.U.”, do you really think anyone would pay anywhere near the same price for a Maltese passport were we not in the EU?

How can you consider the EU citizenship as a burden that’s been “foisted upon us” when, just for starters, it has enabled thousands of Maltese to study at top European universities? Not everyone’s father is a millionaire fire-works importer who can subsidise one’s studies.

In the coming Imperium, we will all be five-foot ginger lardies.

The fact that you think Merkel will be visiting us over this petty issue is amusing enough, Jozef, but that you should think that I’d bother to show up with her burning effigy is just hilarious.

The connection between this issue and ‘10,000 jobs on the line’ escapes me. Too esoteric for me, I’m sure.

And you couldn’t care less what’s happening as you speak.

They’re piling up the panic; at this rate we’ll have Merkel over here in December. There you’ll be, Swastika splattered over her burning effigy.

Yours is just a self-fulfilling prophecy, kev.

I want to see you gloat when 10,000 have their jobs on the line.

It is of course the cheek of actually making a profit of EU citizenship that they cannot look kindly at (especially since they measure all economic figures in ‘per capita’ terms).

Some member states might find a problem down the line, and our prime minister will have to tackle some tricky wedging during the Brussels fringe shows at EU council meetings. We’ll be net contributors anyway by the next multi-annual budget so we might as well pay in a little extra – you know, to share some of those proceeds.

The Americans might find a problem too, not so much due to the visa issue as to the fact that wealthy American citizens are fleeing the IRS (and the imminent dollar collapse) in droves.

That said, and given that we have subordinated our Maltese citizenship to that of the EU (Lisbon treaty, 2009), a ‘eurosceptic’ like myself is bound to consider this move as a somehow pleasing, impertinent gesture that underlines the insolence with which we should threat this EU citizenship that’s been foisted upon us: sell it through an agency and share the proceeds.

The ‘sharing’ aspect does lack in egalitarian spirit, I should add. The real winners are Henley, Scoop & Partners.

Enjoy while it lasts.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/malta-selling-citizenship_n_4267231.html