Peter Xuereb. Photo: University of Malta

The possibility of Brussels pursuing legal action against Malta over the citizenship scheme should not be taken lightly, as the European Commission may have a case in arguing it would breach the EU Treaty, according to EU law expert Peter Xuereb.

The head of European and Comparative Law at the University of Malta said it was premature to pronounce himself on the merits of the legal arguments being made.

But while there did not, at this stage, appear to have been any breach of the EU Treaty, the Commission might well have a case when it argued that the Maltese government should consult other member states before going ahead with the scheme, he said.

Prof. Xuereb cited Article 4 of the treaty, which speaks about loyalty between member states.

The central legal argument here, he said, would be to determine the boundary between member states’ sovereign right and jurisdiction over the granting of citizenship and their obligation to consult the other states.

The issue would not necessarily land before the European Court of Justice

On Saturday, Times of Malta revealed that the Commission in Strasbourg was looking into the possibility of opening infringement procedures against Malta.

A spokeswoman said the decision to sell EU passports with no consultation at all was not in the spirit of Article 4 of the EU Treaty, which dealt with “mutual cooperation”.

This article obliged all states to be very diligent when deciding upon matters such as EU citizenship, as they might affect other member states, the spokesman said.

Prof. Xuereb pointed out that the threat of legal action did not necessarily mean that the case would land before the European Court of Justice, as there were other options available, including a solution on a political level.

But it would be unwise of the government to treat it lightly, especially after the strong message conveyed by the European Parliament on Thursday.

The government should keep all options open including the possibility of holding talks with the commission to thrash out differences and find common ground, he said.