Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001926/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Tomas Tobé (PPE), Lena Düpont (PPE)
Citizenship by investment (CBI) and residence by investment (RBI) schemes threaten EU internal security and undermine the rule of law. The serious security risks posed by CBI and RBI schemes have become particularly highlighted in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as they have opened the door to the EU and the Schengen area to sanctioned individuals who support the war[1].
Parliament has expressed concerns regarding CBI and RBI schemes multiple times in the past and has called for concrete action on all such schemes across the EU, notably in a 2022 Parliament resolution[2]. The recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) that the Maltese investor citizenship scheme is contrary to EU law[3] is a crucial step forward, in this regard. However, the CJEU ruling only concerns CBI schemes, not RBI schemes, which also pose risks linked to security, money laundering and corruption.
- 1.Does the Commission consider that the Member States have ensured that all necessary measures and safeguards have been implemented to address the risks posed by RBI schemes, in line with its 2022 recommendation?[4]
- 2.If not, which Member States lack the necessary safeguards, and what additional measures are required to eliminate the remaining risks?
Submitted: 14.5.2025
- [1] Dubois, L., ‘Maltese “golden” passports were sold to Russians with Ukraine war links’, Financial Times, 27 April 2025, https://www.ft.com/content/b6accfc5-eeca-4a83-a39d-1dc54a7688dd.
- [2] European Parliament resolution of 9 March 2022 with proposals to the Commission on citizenship and residence by investment schemes, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2022-0065_EN.html.
- [3] Judgment of the Court of Justice of 29 April 2025, European Commission v Republic of Malta, C‑181/23/ECLI:EU:C:2025:283, https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=298576&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=17008177.
- [4] Commission Recommendation of 28 March 2022 on immediate steps in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in relation to investor citizenship schemes and investor residence schemes, https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-7916-2022-INIT/en/pdf.