The latest in Dr Simon Busuttil’s chain of scaremongering bubbles to blow up in his face was his claim that, due to the Individual Investors Programme, the United States government could very well withdraw its ‘visa waiver’ agreement with Malta, thus compelling Maltese citizens to obtain a visa to visit the United States. He said this in Parliament, of all places!

The US government has made it plain that it does not interfere with how and to whom other governments grant citizenship. A spokesman said that a visitor arriving in the United States either by air or sea would not be allowed to enter if the government believed he or she could pose a security risk! This is true today, despite the fact that the IIP is not yet operative.

After the rebuff from the European Commission, namely, that the granting of citizenship is the sole competence of the Maltese government, this second one should have taught the Opposition leader to first test the water before jumping in!

Eddy Privitera

MOSTA