Investment citizenship. Reflecții pe marginea motivării hotărârii CJUE, cauza C-181/23 Comisia c. Maltei
Investment citizenship. Reflections on the justification of the landmark decision C-181/23, Commission v Malta

Summary/Abstract: „Investment citizenship" refers to the practice whereby certain countries offer national citizenship in exchange for financial investments. In the European Union, this national citizenship automatically confers Union citizenship, with all the rights that come with it, including the fundamental right of residence guaranteed by Article 21 TFEU and CJEU case law. Thus, this so called "golden citizenship" programs do not have effects limited to national borders, but generate transnational consequences, as beneficiaries acquire the freedom to move and settle anywhere in the Union without a genuine link to the issuing state. This situation raises issues of security, solidarity, and the uniform application of fundamental freedoms. The European Commission has repeatedly emphasized that these programs can undermine mutual trust between Member States and distort the logic of European citizenship, which is why it has initiated infringement proceedings against Malta and Cyprus. Through this study, we aim to analyze the extent to which citizenship-by-investment programs influence the exercise of freedom of establishment within EU and also whether this practice is compatible with the principle of solidarity between Member States and the concept of Union citizenship. Returning to the classic definition of citizenship, but also to the CJEU's interpretation of the link between national citizenship and Union citizenship in relation to freedom of residence, we will analyze the risks arising from circumventing the basic principles that define the concept of citizenship and the indissoluble link between the state and the citizen. We will also explore the risks arising from the fact that freedom of establishment becomes indirectly „transferable" through financial investments and what solutions can be proposed at European level to ensure a balance between the sovereignty of states to regulate citizenship and the protection of common values.

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