⚖️Passport Denied: The sale of EU Citizenship has come to an end

A landmark CJEU judgment has reasserted that European identity cannot be purchased, only earned through genuine ties and shared responsibility

Grand chamber of the European Court of Justice (Photo by Cédric Puisney)

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Yesterday was an important day in European history, with a legal ruling of seismic consequence being handed down this morning by the European Court of Justice.

In a decision thick with the perfume of principle and the sting of sovereignty, the ECJ declared that Malta’s much criticised golden passport scheme, formally known as the “Maltese Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment”, was in breach of European Union law.

The verdict? One cannot buy a European soul.

Press Release regarding the ECJ ruling on Malta's golden passports

At the centre of this judicial opera was the peculiar alchemy through which gold from unknown sources could be transmuted into nationality. Under the Maltese scheme, foreign nationals with no real, concrete link to the island nation could, through a preordained menu of payments and investments, obtain Maltese citizenship.

And with it—automatically—European citizenship, complete with its freedoms, privileges, and passports. No cultural bond, no enduring connection. Just a signature and a wire transfer.

Fortunately the Court refused to treat citizenship as mere merchandise. While each Member State retains the sovereign right to define its own criteria for granting nationality, this sovereignty must still bow to the silent contract of the Union: one founded on solidarity, sincere cooperation, and mutual trust.

By commercialising citizenship, Malta, the judges ruled, had breached that contract, and the brutal honesty in the document was welcomed by many campaigners and citizens across Europe:

“A Member State 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. 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 the Member States and thus constitutes a breach of the principle of sincere cooperation.”

The golden passport, in the eyes of the law, was fool’s gold.

The principle at stake is not merely semantic. European citizenship is not a standalone product but an inherited benefit, granted through the conferral of national citizenship and upheld through a shared architecture of rights and responsibilities.

In turning that process into a transactional procedure, the Maltese scheme became, in effect, a backdoor to Europe: one not guarded by values, but by price tags.

The Commission, which had taken Malta to Court, argued precisely this—that the scheme undermined the spirit of the Treaties and the trust between nations. The Court agreed, evoking Articles 20 TFEU and 4(3) TEU to underline its position. European citizenship, it seems, cannot be offered à la carte.

With this judgment, the message from Luxembourg is crystal clear: a Member State cannot treat nationality as a luxury good, and the practice of buying your way into our Union is now finished.

The sale of passports is, for all legal intents and European purposes, now closed.

The Court’s decision also casts a long, clarifying light on the evolving nature of European identity itself. By closing the door on transactional citizenship, the ruling reinforces a deeper vision of Union membership: one rooted not in wealth, but in belonging, in living as a part of our community, and having contributed more than just money to the European project.

It gestures towards a future where EU citizenship is not simply a legal status appended to a passport, but a civic relationship shaped by participation, solidarity, and shared values. A future where EU citizenship has to be earned through lived experiences and contributions.

In doing so, the judgment may encourage Member States to pursue more integrative approaches to citizenship, emphasising social ties, cultural integration, and democratic commitment. Far from closing Europe off, it invites a more durable, meaningful construction of the European citizenry, one built not on investments, but on mutual trust and common purpose.

As for Malta, the implications are stark. The country must comply with the Court’s judgment without delay. Should it fail to do so, the Commission may return to the bench, this time seeking financial penalties. No sunset clause, no indulgence.

Thus, the age of golden passports in the European Union has come to an end, struck down not with political rhetoric but with the clear, cold blade of the law.

One cannot purchase entry into our community of values.

At least, not anymore.

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