The European parliament debated the topic of ‘golden visas’ asking for Member States apply stricter checks to fight money laundering and prevent criminals from gaining access to the EU.
Upon ALDE’s initiative, MEPs today debated the ‘golden visa’ programs run by at least 12 Member States and attracting criticism from others. In practice, these so-called ‘residency-by-investment’ schemes allow wealthy people to buy their way into the EU and skip immigration queues in return for a sizeable investment, thereby making them particularly vulnerable to corruption and money laundering.
By investing large sums of money, the wealthy can obtain the right to reside in the EU or even to become citizens. It is essential that Member States apply stricter checks to fight money laundering and prevent criminals from gaining access to the EU #GoldenVisas pic.twitter.com/KqzF5y3zHm
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) May 30, 2018
MEP Roberta Metsola insisted that citizens expect that people who acquire #Citizenship have a genuine link to the country. “The @Europarl_EN & @EU_Commission cannot turn a blind eye to this”.
Maltese Labour MP Alfred Sant delivered a speech in defending golden visa schemes, calling “legitimate tools of policy” for economies on the periphery of the EU, reported by Malta Today.
Alfred Sant is lone voice in defending sale of citizenship to rich foreigners https://t.co/fLQ5Ri8B73 pic.twitter.com/dQjlBs0DvW
— MaltaToday (@maltatoday) May 30, 2018
Today's #EPlenary debate on #GoldenVisas ends with a fire alarm. Never seen the parliamentary debate get this this hot #badumtis pic.twitter.com/5G9b0AysW2
— Ilkka Penttinen (@penaolli) May 30, 2018
Sophie in ‘t Veld, ALDE Group’s First Vice President who initiated the plenary debate on the subject commented:
“The biggest weakness of the various golden visa programs run by a number of EU Member States is the lack of proper background checks run on the applicants, often outsourced to private companies. While some governments are busy building up a fortress Europe, they are rolling out the red carpet for wealthy criminals. We are talking here about state-facilitated corruption and money-laundering. Golden visa schemes need a thorough revision with common EU rules to carry out reliable back ground checks and screening of applicants. Europe must close its back door, which is wide open to crime and corruption.”
Gerard Deprez, Member of the LIBE Committee added:
“How is it possible that European citizenship can simply be bought in one Member State and then used to circulate freely in the single market? Only a comprehensive review of the long-term residency critera can address this situation. Time has come to harmonise the rules and take our collective responsibility.”
Cecilia Wikström, Chair of the PETI Committee further argued:
“The special programs in many Member States to issue golden visas undermine our efforts in the fight against organised crime and corruption. The system does not only contribute to tax evasion and money laundering, it also very unfair, because only very rich people from third countries can benefit from all the opportunities that a European passport brings. In the meantime, poor people continue to risk their lives on dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean, in the search for new life chances. The opportunity to stay in the EU must depend on the individual’s needs and merits, not on how rich the person is.
You can see the debate video here: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?ref=I156383
