The security of Europe is threatened by the so-called "golden passport" systems that enable countries to sell citizenships to potentially dangerous persons, warned European Justice Commissioner Vera Jurova.
She described the program as "problematic and dishonest", expressing concern among European intelligence agencies, who fear that such a passport could be used by people with enough money to buy access to the UK and Europe.
The comments come after Malta and Cyprus were blacklisted from the 21st countries with passport systems that pose a major threat to tax evasion. The two EU members have already "sold" citizenships to hundreds of people from Russia, China and the Middle East.
Jurova said that "earnings are put before safety"
"I understand that the systems of economic citizenships are favorable for the economy. But it is unfair to those who cannot buy citizenships. Citizenships are something big and valuable, so their sale is very problematic".
She pointed out that the EU has legitimate doubts because dangerous persons, by obtaining the citizenship of one of the EU members, would receive citizenship for the whole of Europe.
"As soon as there are weak points in the EU, the whole of Europe has a problem," Jurova said.
British intelligence has also expressed dissatisfaction with economic citizenship systems. "It's not just a problem for us, it's for everyone," a Whitehall source told the Guardian.
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