Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is not concerned by the result of Wednesday’s EU debate on the citizenship scheme. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Wednesday’s European Parliament debate on Malta’s citizenship-for-cash programme would be just “an opinion” and would not stop the government from implementing the scheme, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

“The non-binding resolution will only serve to show the citizens of Malta who is doing his best to damage the country’s reputation overseas.

“All the Nationalist MEPs would have attained in five years is a resolution putting their home country in a bad light,” he said.

In contrast, for Labour MEPs Malta was first and foremost, Dr Muscat said, recalling the rallying cry of former Labour prime minister Dom Mintoff.

He said the Opposition was critical of the programme because of its potential success as it aimed to attract “big talent” and new networks of investors, along with a projected income of €1 billion, which would be used to strengthen training, education and social services.

His government’s vision was that of being a leader, he said, adding that other countries were already looking into the citizenship avenue to boost their public finances.

He accused the Opposition of being contradictory in its criticism: “Roberta Metsola said she opposed the scheme because it was only open to the rich and then her leader told me we need to raise the fee. Can you believe it?”

He said the Opposition was insisting that Malta should not offer citizenship when it was already overpopulated but then criticised the government for not making residence mandatory for applicants.

Turning to other sectors, Dr Muscat said the government would soon unveil its strategy for the health sector, which had been found in a deplorable state.

“Tough decisions would have to be taken and we will not shy away from making them,” he said. The same could be said for public transport.

While the government would prefer the service to be run by the private sector, there were various options, including having a number of companies involved on different networks, all coordinated by a central authority.

The Blata l-Bajda park-and-ride facility will also be revamped so people would use it and alleviate the traffic problems in Valletta.

Speaking about civil partnerships, also proving to be controversial, especially when it comes to gay adoptions, Dr Muscat said the government was clear before the election and would go ahead with the law to have “equality and dignity for all”.

He appealed to the Opposition to revert to the position adopted by former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi who had agreed, before the election, that no one had a right to adopt but everyone had to have a right to apply for adoption.

The experts would then decide, not according to what suited the adoptive parents but what suited the children, he said.