Citizenship by Investment Programs from the Perspective of International and EU Law

Weingerl, Petra; Tratnik, Matjaž

doi:10.18690/lexonomica.11.2.95-126.2019

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 1 publication

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“…Not all Member States, however, have ratified the ECN, and international lawwhile relevant to the EU legal order does not offer much help either. 179 Peers made a crucial observation, however, that since Member States are forced to recognise each other's nationalities, they have at least 'some' interest in what other countries decide regarding their nationality laws. 180 Given the fact that there are no internal border controls and that EU citizens are enjoying freedom of movement within the internal market, the point of having a genuine interest in other Member States' laws is even more visible.…”

Section: Eu Citizenship and Nationality Laws Article 20 Of The Tfeu C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sale of EU Citizenship and the 'Law' Behind It

Zabrocka

2023

SCR

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Investment migration in the European Union (‘EU’) as well as outside of it has been the subject of many legal and socio-political studies, with numerous developments emerging in recent years. There is considerable disagreement on the legal position at EU level, which can be observed in the differing views of commentators on the EU’s competence on the matter. Thus, this article maps the situation concerning citizenship by investment (‘CBI’) in the EU by canvassing the policy and legal developments to date as well as the main critical perspectives from scholarly work. In doing so, this article explores the exact legal position of both EU Member States and organs in the context of the split of competence on nationality matters, as well as routes to potential intervention at EU level. The core research question in this regard is whether the matter is one of law or merely policy, and what could justify EU level intervention in an effort to approximate Member States’ laws on investment migration. Thus, the first part of this article explores relevant theoretical frameworks before moving onto a discussion of trends and tendencies among states (inside and outside the EU). A brief overview of the risks, scandals and controversies attached to CBI throughout the years will follow. Next, the internal and external dimensions of the EU’s approach to CBI will be discussed in order to lay the foundation for a more substantive analysis of the EU’s legal position on CBI, including a discussion on EU citizenship and nationality laws. Last, this article will briefly consider CBI from a public international law perspective, and conclude with a critical commentary of the issues canvassed, including on the so-called ‘soft law’ considerations of citizenship and on the European Commission’s proposals in response to investment migration in the EU.

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Section: Eu Citizenship and Nationality Laws Article 20 Of The Tfeu C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sale of EU Citizenship and the 'Law' Behind It

Zabrocka

2023

SCR

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Malta’s Rule of Law in Crisis: Perspectives From a Captured Member State

Lobina

2023

SSRN Journal

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Citizenship by Investment - Latest Development in the European Union

Bocková¹,

Kucharčík²

2023

politickevedy

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This paper covers citizenship by investment (CBI) schemes in the European Union (EU) context which allow to acquire nationality of the EU member state through targeted investments. We were verifying whether the negative attitude of the EU towards the CBI schemes of member states and the ongoing war in Ukraine threaten their very existence. In order to achieve the objective, we analysed the rules on the acquisition of citizenship by naturalization as well as the relationship between nationality of the EU member states, which is still their exclusive competence and the EU citizenship status. Subsequently, we compared CBI schemes of three EU member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta). The results show that the EU has put pressure on member states to cancel their CBI programs because of the complex relationship between the national citizenship on the one hand and the EU citizenship and related rights enforceable across the whole EU on the other hand. This EU pressure has been further intensified following the war in Ukraine. The reason is that Russian nationals made up a significant number of CBI applicants and also because some Russian or Belarusian nationals who are supporting the war in Ukraine might have acquired EU citizenship under CBI schemes. Of the three countries we analysed, only Malta currently has a valid CBI program. Bulgaria and Cyprus abolished their CBI programs. This development indicates that the EU has gradually succeeded in eliminating the existence of CBI in the EU member states. However, it is not yet clear whether this practice of member states is contrary to the EU law. We assume that the Court of Justice of the EU will resolve this question in the ongoing infringement procedure initiated by the European Commission against Malta.

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Citizenship by Investment Programs from the Perspective of International and EU Law

Cited by 3 publications

References 1 publication

The Sale of EU Citizenship and the 'Law' Behind It

The Sale of EU Citizenship and the 'Law' Behind It

Malta’s Rule of Law in Crisis: Perspectives From a Captured Member State

Citizenship by Investment - Latest Development in the European Union

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