President Nicos Anastasiades on Wednesday accused the EU of double standards, as he sought to defend the government’s citizenship-by-investment programme, which has been criticised by the European Commission.
“At some point, these double standards must end,” he said, suggesting expediency and competition were the reasons why Cyprus was being singled out.
He said Cyprus granted just 0.3 per cent of the citizenships granted by the EU and had the strictest criteria.
In a report expected on Wednesday, the European Commission will warn that schemes in EU states to sell citizenship or residence to wealthy individuals could help foreign organised crime groups infiltrate the bloc and increase the risk of money laundering, corruption and tax evasion.
Although individuals who purchase citizenship and residence in EU states can do it for legitimate reasons, the commission said the schemes posed “risks of infiltration of non-EU organised crime groups in the economy, money laundering, corruption and tax evasion.”
Malta, Cyprus, and Bulgaria are the only members of the 28-nation EU which run schemes selling citizenship, while twenty states, including those three, sell residence permits.
In the three states, rich foreigners can buy passports, which grant them unhindered access to most EU countries, for investments ranging between €1m and €2m.
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