Anti-corruption campaigners Transparency International and Global Witness warn that a report from the European Commission on investor residence schemes for EU citizenship falls short of the urgent action needed. The UK is among 20 EU countries to run investor residence (‘golden visa’) schemes.
Naomi Hirst, Senior Anti-Corruption Campaigner at Global Witness said: “The tide is turning on the ‘golden visa’ industry with the EU recognising the unacceptable security and corruption risks they create. However, the Commission’s report tells us nothing about what member states actually need to do – now they’ve sounded the alarm, they need to offer solutions. It’s now time for member states to take responsibility for their golden visa schemes and, following Bulgaria’s lead, suspend them until it is clear they are no longer threatening the security of the EU.”
The report states that the Commission will convene a “group of experts” from all member states to tackle risks in citizenship schemes and prepare a set of security checks by the end of 2019. But Global Witness and Transparency International say these measures are not adequate for what is needed. The two campaign groups are calling for stricter due diligence measures and an EU-wide enforcement of these standards.
And Laure Brillaud of Transparency International said: “This report firmly puts the spotlight on dubious schemes in member states, which is a good first step. However, we see little incentive for countries like Malta to scrap these lucrative schemes without strong action from international institutions such as the EU.”
The EC notes that three countries, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta, operate schemes that grant investors the nationality of these countries under conditions which are less strict than ordinary naturalisation regimes. In these three countries, there is no obligation of physical residence; and a valid residence permit gives a third-country national the right to travel in the Schengen area. The report, and campaigners, point to a lack of transparency in how the schemes are operated and a lack of cooperation among EU states add to the risks – of such schemes aiding or sheltering money laundering, tax evasion and corruption. As for security, the report says that checks run on applicants are not robust enough and the EU’s own central information systems, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), are not being used as systematically as they should. The report suggests due diligence to ensure that the schemes aren’t being used as a form of money laundering.
Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “Legally residing in the EU and in the Schengen area comes with rights and privileges that should not be abused. Member states must at all times fully respect and apply existing obligatory checks and balances – and national investor residence schemes should not be exempt from that. The work we have done together over the past years in terms of increasing security, strengthening our borders, and closing information gaps should not be jeopardised. We will monitor full compliance with EU law.”
Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová, said: “Becoming a citizen of one member state also means becoming an EU citizen with all its rights, including free movement and access to the internal market. People obtaining an EU nationality must have a genuine connection to the member state concerned. We want more transparency on how nationality is granted and more cooperation between member states. There should be no weak link in the EU, where people could shop around for the most lenient scheme.”
