Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-181/23

PRESS RELEASE No 52/25 Luxembourg, 29 April 2025 Judgment of the Court in Case C-181/23 | Commission v Malta (Citizenship by investment) Union citizenship: the Maltese investor citizenship scheme is contrary to EU law The acquisition of Union citizenship cannot result from a commercial transaction While the definition of the conditions for granting and losing the nationality of a Member State is a matter of national competence, that competence must be exercised consistently with EU law. The bond of nationality with a Member State is based on a specific relationship of solidarity, good faith and the reciprocity of rights and duties between the State and its citizens. Where a Member State grants nationality, and thus automatically Union citizenship, in direct exchange for predetermined investments or payments through a transactional procedure, it manifestly infringes those principles. Such ‘commercialisation’ of citizenship is incompatible with the basic concept of Union citizenship as defined by the Treaties. It infringes the principle of sincere cooperation and jeopardises the mutual trust between Member States concerning the grant of their nationality, which governed the establishment of Union citizenship in the Treaties. Following an amendment to the Maltese Citizenship Act in July 2020, Malta adopted regulations 1 which established detailed rules for the acquisition of ‘Maltese Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by...