EU to sue Malta over passport programme

The European Union’s executive branch said yesterday that it is taking Malta to court over its golden passport policy that allows wealthy people to buy EU citizenship, even after the small island country suspended the program for citizens of Russia and Belarus. The European Commission launched infringement procedures against Malta and Cyprus in 2020. The commission said that ‘‘granting EU citizenship in return for pre-determined payments or investments without any genuine link to the member state concerned is not compatible with the principle of sincere co-operation’’.