Opposition leader Simon Busuttil this afternoon reiterated that the Opposition is to continue resisting the citizenship scheme with all means as it was harming the country.

“We now have a clear message from the EU that what the Prime Minister is doing, selling Maltese and European citizenship, undermines and weakens our sense of European identity and the meaning of citizenship.”

The European Parliament yesterday overwhelmingly approved a motion criticising Malta for launching the scheme. There were 560 votes in favour of the motion and 22 votes against.

The 22, Dr Busuttil noted, were the four Maltese Labour MPs and 18 extremists. “This is the isolation Joseph Muscat is in,” he said.

Speaking on Radio 101, Dr Busuttil said that following yesterday’s EP message, he expected the Prime Minister to listen and stop the scheme which was damaging the country. The longer he took to take action, the greater the damage, he said.

Dr Busuttil said that when the Prime Minister accused the PN of harming the country, he was turning things upside down as how could he, for example, convince the leader of the Socialists and the Greens to be against the scheme.

The EU, Dr Busuttil said, had this week acted as a shield for Malta and the Maltese against the harm being done by the Prime Minister.

Commissioner Viviane Reding made it clear that it was not acceptable to sell European citizenship, this was illegal and there would be negative consequences.

Had the Prime Minister listened to the social partners, if not to the PN, who repeatedly called for a consensus in the national interest, none of this would have happened.

The Nationalist Party, Dr Busuttil said, was still open to consensus as long as the Prime Minister addressed the party’s objection to the principle.

The scheme, the Opposition leader insisted, was not just immoral, it was also illegal and the government should listen to the calls being made.

However, following Dr Muscat reaction yesterday, he was not optimistic, he said.