The European Parliament has now delivered its verdict, clearing establishing that citizenship should not be for sale. It did so not by some slim majority, but by over 90% of the vote. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's reaction was to state the result was noted, reaffirm his conviction that such things are strictly national competence and proclaim that things would move ahead as planned.

Far be it for me, of all people, to have any particular faith in the Prime Minister's ability to the respect democratic values, but even I was surprised by the arrogance conveyed through these statements. The EP resolution is not binding but it sends a clear message of harsh disapproval for the scheme that is far from similar to other schemes in the EU.

It all hinges on the residency requirement. The Maltese scheme does not necessitate the applicant to be present in Malta at any time. There is no other scheme in the EU like this. This is what has everyone so upset. And while cheap spin seems to have some success on occasion on our island, it is certainly not the case in the EP.

Linking the resolution to previous resolutions on abortion insults people's intelligence - the PM is selling something European, that is not his to sell, which very much affects other member states. What we do in our country vis-à-vis abortion affects us and us alone.

The arguments put forward by labour MEPs during the EP debate were amusing. They seemed to focus on the notion that, yes it might be wrong, but hey, it is not just us. This is a clear untruth - but let's for the sake of the argument hypothetically assume that they were right. Is it possible that they were not even capable of convincing one MEP each from their own party to support this truth and vote against the resolution? Frankly they should have been capable of that even if they were well aware they were saying rubbish. "You on the left, don't know your name but press the red button on the next one, would you? It is important for my PM..." But even that was too challenging, such was the disdain for the Maltese scheme.

Now we also have Commissioner Viviane Reding diverting from the original non-committal position taken by the Commission and stating that she believes the Maltese scheme goes so far that it does in fact contravene EU and international law. Commission legal experts are looking into the PM's scheme and analysing what to do next, even hinting at possible infringement proceedings. So where does this end?

When will our European colleagues stop calling the scheme 'crazy', 'ridiculous' and informing us this scheme is turning us into a laughing stock? And I ask: would it really make such a big difference to insert a residency requirement? If you really want to sell passports like cheesecakes at the market create a new legal term for "investor residency" and define it loosely, making it necessary for our new compatriots to at least pop over to Malta for a week or two during the summer months for a swim and some shellfish. While neither this achieves the declared aim of attracting to our islands, talent, people of calibre and all this nonsense it would certainly make the scheme less conspicuously abusive of EU membership.

So, what is the PM up to? Does he really believe he would not sell as many passports if applicants were compelled to come over every now and again? Does this Henley & Something have something on him that is preventing him from altering the scheme and forcing him to plod along despite the consequences?

Or perhaps it is us that are grossly underestimating our PM. Is it possible that he has remained so anti-European that this antagonism with Europe is exactly what he has been trying to create all along?  His defiance of the EP and now also the European Commission are far from helping EU-Malta relations. I would like to see how the EU responds the next time he harps on about Malta not coping with any more migrants. Well, looking ahead, it does not end well and I sincerely hope that my speculations are incorrect.

I would very much like to see a good scheme in place - that yes - generates lots of money for Malta. But one that is tied to an actual presence and investment in Malta, preferably involving the creation of business opportunities and employment and everything that all this brings with it.