The Broken Maltese Falcon

Festung Europa, well that is, the EU has decided to close one more and maybe the main door left for the rich to gain citizenship to the Schengen Zone. Under various pretenses, the Court of Justice of the European Union set its sights on both Cyprus and Malta back in 2020. Cyprus folded like a cheap suit, even revoking passports previously issued to various Russians, while Malta fought on up to the final verdict on April 29, 2025.

The CJEU ruling read: “An EU nation cannot grant its nationality – and indeed European citizenship – in exchange for predetermined payments or investments, as this essentially amounts to rendering the acquisition of nationality a mere commercial transaction.” Additionally the court stated: “Such a practice does not make it possible to establish the necessary bond of solidarity and good faith between a member state and its citizens, or to ensure mutual trust between member states.”

European Commission spokesperson said, “European citizenship is not for sale…investor citizenship schemes breach EU law and as such should be abolished by all member states.”

If there was still any doubt that the member states of the EU were anything more than shackled provinces of the unelected EUSSR Politburo and nomenklatura leadership class, this kills it. A nation that cannot determine to whom and for what it gives its citizenship is not a sovereign entity, it's a subject vassal, with no sovereignty.

What's quite funny in all this is that during a time when the wealthy of the EU are fleeing to anywhere but this economic and bureaucratic morass of unelected tyrants, programs that brought in the rich and their fortunes, that led to direct investments in the various EU countries (provinces) are being threatened. Thank you for the interest, but our failing tyrannical economies spit at your monies and investments. Especially if that wealth is being brought by Russians or the next designated enemy nationality, Chinese.

"The Malta program was an extremely attractive 'backdoor' for wealthy individuals worldwide who wanted to move freely within the European Schengen Area without a visa,” stated Christine Surak, London’s School of Economics (LSE) immigration expert.

In all, eight EUSSR republics, er member nations have had similar programs: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Malta. At present, following this Malta ruling, the legal status of these working programs is now uncertain.

Interestingly, other nations, such as economically booming Russia or Georgia court just these types of investors and have similar programs, as do former Soviet republics Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with their brand new Golden Visa programs. Even the US, under Trump, is bringing back their Golden Card program for a quick path to citizenship. The price touted by Trump is a cool $5 million.

Just how much revenue do these programs bring in to the national treasury?

Over the past decade, Portugal alone attracted about 5.8 billion euros.

Records show that just by 2019 Greece issued over 13,000 EU visas under a minimum investment condition of €250,000, which had been the lowest requirement in the EU. The real estate market sucked up 90% of these funds and led to a revival of the southern European real estate market, which was desperate for capital after the 2009-2010 recession.

Italy in 2022 gained a much smaller portion, only netting €22 million from its program.

The program that Malta will now be shutting down was two tier. Tier one involved a 36 month continuous residency and 600,000 euro payment to the government, tier two a 12 month residency and €750,000 payment. Also there was a requirement of a property purchase of no less than €700,000 and a donation to a charity of €10,000.

Amongst those who passed the program were 7 Russian citizens, who are under sanctions. One has had his passport revoked for other issues dealing with Finland well before the Special Military Operation (SMO). A small double digit number of Russians saw their legally purchased Cypriot citizenships revoked by the Republic of Cyprus, after Nicosia came under heavy EU pressure in 2022.

The irony here is that from a Machiavellian perspective a smart EUrocrat would want Russia's rich, as a nation the EU is basically at war with, coming to the EU and removing Russian capital to the EU. The British whose economy is dominated by the City of London pursued such policies for two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union. However, luckily for Russia the dictatorial class of the EUSSR is so stupid that they ban entry and confiscate property, in hopes that these disenfranchised oligarchs and businessmen will risk everything to serve the EUSSR against their own nation. What actual experience has shown is quite the opposite. These people are angry alright, but now at the EU. Many Russian oligarchs have become at least outwardly belated patriots, who are now investing their monies at home, building up the very Russian industries which will prove a long-term competitive threat to the fumbling buffoons in Brussels.

Either way, Fortress Europe is closing its gates to wealthy investors still trying to get in, even as its own rich businessmen are fleeing London, Paris and Frankfurt, looking beyond traditional offshore banking destinations such as the Caymans. According to Henley & Partners, the number of British millionaires fleeing the UK reached unprecedented levels in 2024. Europe's capital flight will be the UAE and other rising BRICS+ destinations gain. Stupid is as stupid does!