Greeks bearing gifts and all that…
Well, the big-shots from the Greek government have been and gone, amid the screeching of a zillion police car sirens, supper at a cavernous touristy restaurant in Marsaxlokk and lunch at another inappropriate restaurant in Ta’ Xbiex (but then you could never accuse Labour of doing things properly) and just as they depart, Arab News reports:
GREECE OFFERS SAUDIS FIVE-YEAR RESIDENCY FOR EUR250,000
Clearly, there are some members of our highly intellectual and progressive government who have never heard of the exhortation to beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
The Greek consul in Jeddah announced yesterday that his country has just legislated to allow ‘investors’ (hmmm, where have we heard that before) from non-EU countries to be granted a residency visa in Greece (which means a Schengen visa) for five years against payment of a quarter of a million euros, regardless of whether they buy or rent property there.
Arab News reports:
The consul called on the Saudi business community to take advantage of the great opportunities available to them in Greece in several areas including energy, real estate, industry and tourism.
(…)
“You can get the “Schengen” visa for five years for you and your family, and if you do not sell this property, you can renew it for another five years,” the consul added.
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http://www.arabnews.com/news/525136
It was only a matter of time before the competition caught up with Joseph Muscat. And who better than the Greeks?
I am actually surprised they did not offer to sell their islands.
They tried but were shouted down.
So here we go. It’s going to be a race to the bottom as the who can offer free movement through the EU for the cheapest price, though selling “residency” isn’t quite as crass as citizenship.
The European Commission had better cotton on fast and stop being an ostrich about this issue, as Europe’s borders are going to be crossed purely on the basis of cash.
So are Henley and Partners advising the Greeks? Wonderful – we are now going to be classed together with the bankrupt countries of Europe.
The irony is totally overwhelming.
The SALE is now on.
As they say, Joseph Muscat sab Grieg. And what ti hack, eh? Others will surely follow.
I believe that the President of Greece visited Malta, he holds a similar status to the Maltese one. Therefore, since these decisions are made by the Prime Minister, the visit and the announcement should not be connected. With regards to the comments on the successful sale of Greek islands (or not), for those who are interested, I remind you that Greek islands are for sale, they will remain Greek sold or not. Recently Rybolovlev bought Skorpios for 120M.