Nationalist MEP David Casa said this morning that he and fellow MEP Roberta Metsola would be doing their best in the European Parliament to stop the government's citizenship scheme.

Speaking at a meeting of the PN National Council, Mr Casa said be was pounced upon by other MEPs over the last week as they learnt about the implications of the scheme.

Those, he said, were truly embarrassing moments.

The scheme, he said, was robbing Malta and the Maltese of their citizenship.And yet it used to be Alfred Sant and George Vella who used to claim that EU membership would rob Malta of its identity.

Mr Casa said the government had relented and removed the secrecy clause of the citizenship scheme following pressure by Simon Busuttil. But unless the government further amended the scheme to link it to investment, the Nationalist MEPs will try to block it in the European Parliament, and he hoped the Labour MEPs would work with them in the national interest.

BILL THAT CRUCIFIES PN 'OVER OUR DEAD BODIES'

During the same meeting, PN Deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami criticised the government over its "€10m hand-out" to the PL through Australia Hall and other properties in Pembroke.

He said the PN agreed on having legislation on party funding.

But the PN would not tolerate a situation where the government enacted legislation 'to crucify' the Nationalist Party. That would happen "over our dead bodies" he said.

Dr Fenech Adami also warned the government on the citizenship scheme: "We will rock you, we will stop you," he said, quoting a song by the group Queen.

Earlier, PN Deputy leader Mario de Marco said the citizenship scheme had reduced Malta to a laughing stock, or worse.

Malta, he said, had reached rock standards where ethical standards were concerned. The government had ploughed ahead, ignoring everyone, and it was now starting to pull back, after so much harm was done to the country, he said.

This was just one issue which brought out in sharp contrast the difference in values between the PL and the PL.