Nationalist MEP Davcid Casa has urged the governemnt to stop the citizenship scheme if it intends to change it again.

In a statement, Mr Casa noted that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had stated after the European Parliament vote that the scheme would proceed as planned. More recently however, it transpired that the Government would be holding talks with the European Commission.

"This is a dangerous game," Mr Casa said. "On the one hand applications for prospective buyers of Maltese passports have been issued and on the other there are talks of negotiations with the Commission.

"The government needs to clarify its position. Are these talks just a sham? Is this one of the delaying tactics we have become accustomed to? Or is the Government holding talks with the Commission with the intention of amending the scheme?

"Had consultation with the Commission taken place before, this mess could have been avoided. And as the situation stands now it is unacceptable for the scheme to be operational while talks are on-going. Not only is the scheme the target of international rebuke, but this irresponsible behaviour of marketing and trying to sell a half-baked scheme will see serious investors shunning Malta now and in the future". 

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