EU legal services are to open negotiations with Cyprus over the country’s citizenship programme, according to a report in MaltaToday. The talks follow the conclusion of negotiations with Malta over its citizenship scheme, in particular with regard to residency. Cyprus and Austria are among the EU states that have citizenship schemes but do not oblige applicants to have proof of residency. While the EU has no obligation to impose a “proof of residency” on member states, political pressure from the European Parliament led the legal services to take extraordinary action with Malta. It appears that during the negotiations with the Maltese delegation, the issue of Cyprus was raised and the legal services indicated to the delegation that Cyprus would be targeted next. Yesterday, in an indication of how fast Malta works, the country’s parliamentary secretary and Attorney General, presented amendments to the legislation.
EU Talks on Cyprus Citizenship Scheme
