Opposition leader Simon Busuttil yesterday said he expected the government to back his call for an urgent debate in the House to discuss the European Parliament’s overwhelming vote against the citizenship scheme.
Addressing a crowd of PN supporters at the party headquarters in Pietà, Dr Busuttil said he would be making his request at the start of this evening’s parliamentary session.
The issue, he said, was very serious and urgent in the wake of the news that the European Commission was contemplating opening infringement procedures against Malta.
Dr Busuttil called the scheme “immoral” and “obscene” while accusing the Prime Minister of being “immature” and “irresponsible”.
He also reiterated that a future PN government would revoke all the citizenships granted through the Individual Investor Programme.
Flanked by the 11 PN MEP candidates and party officials, he again said Thursday’s vote was one of no confidence both in the Prime Minister and in the citizenship scheme.
The European Parliament’s resolution was not against Malta but against the scheme, he said, adding that the Prime Minister had to shoulder responsibility for the damage inflicted on the country’s reputation.
Dr Busuttil warned that the PN would “join forces with the EU” to protect the national interest if the government refused to listen.
He referred to a Sunday Times of Malta report that a former Formula 1 champion and a host of wealthy foreigners were interested in acquiring citizenship, accusing the government of trying to “buy the people’s support”.
He said Malta’s accession to the EU meant the Maltese were part of the European family, and: “You cannot put your family up for sale.”
He added that, if Malta would not show any respect to them, “then we cannot expect better from other member states”.
The Prime Minister, he said, was conveying the message that Malta had a “gaping hole” in its finances, just as Alfred Sant did in 1996.
This was a blatant lie as the PN-led government left the country’s finances in good shape.
The Opposition leader questioned the truth behind the PM’s claim that the scheme would yield €1 billion, in the light of Finance Minister Edward Scicluna telling the European Parliament that the government would bring in just €8 million.
Dr Busuttil also questioned the reasons behind the Prime Minister’s resolve to introduce the scheme at all costs, asking whether he had some kind of obligation to honour or if he had committed himself before the general election.