The European Commission does not have the ability to intervene in the criminal matters or the administration or the judiciary of any individual European Union member state, European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said to Nationalist Party MEP David Casa in a letter on Thursday.

Johansson was replying to letters that Casa had previously sent in which he had expressed concerns about the allegations of ID card fraud and corruption within Identita. Johansson acknowledged that Casa was concerned that the alleged fraudulent scheme would allow the fraudulent access of third-country nationals to the EU, therefore posing security risks to the Schengen area, including Malta.

The Home Affairs Commissioner said that she shares Casa’s concerns regarding allegations of corruption, and continued that “the Commission takes the fight against corruption very seriously”. She spoke of how the Commission published the fifth EU Rule of Law report on 24th July 2024 which she said included the most recent developments regarding the fight against corruption and provided concrete recommendations to confront systemic weaknesses.

On the matter of the alleged forgery of documentation in the issuing of residence permits, Johansson said that it is extremely important for the security of all EU member states that all necessary checks are carried out before a residence permit is issued to non-EU nationals. She continued that this is important “as a residence permit grants certain rights to third-country nationals to travel in the Schengen area”. She expressed that a robust identity management is fundamentally important for an effective and sustainable migration process.

With that said, she continued that under the EU legal migration acquis, the fraudulent acquisition of residence permits is a ground of rejection and withdrawal of such permits, and added that member states are obligated to withdraw residence permits if it is discovered that documents presented as part of the application were fraudulently acquired, falsified, or tampered with.

Johansson acknowledged that the Maltese authorities have initiated an investigation into the matter, including an ongoing magisterial inquiry. She said that the Commission will continue to monitor the situation.

Peter Agius requests European evaluation on Identity Malta in meeting with European Commissioner Ilva Johansson

Separately, PN MEP Peter Agius met with European Commissioner Ilva Johansson to discuss the ongoing scandal of fraudulent identity card documents by Identity Malta. 

"Up to 18,000 fraudulent identity cards were allegedly issued by Identity Malta over the past years in an organised 'documents for money' racket resulting in the erosion of public trust in Malta's identity card system which ultimately gives freedom of movement to the whole European Union Schengen area," a statement by the EPP read.

In the meeting on Thursday at the Headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, MEP Peter Agius said: "To restore trust in our ID cards system we need concrete public action. Unfortunately, Government remains in denial. PN's calls for action fell on deaf ears. I am thus calling on the European Commission to assist with its technical tools to review current practices at Identity Malta through an evaluation as per the Schengen Regulation.'' 

The Schengen Evaluation and Monitoring Mechanism in Regulation 2022/922 provides ]for general or thematic evaluations to assess current practices at local authorities in charge of administering the Schengen rules, the statement read.

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ilva Johansson enquired about the situation in Malta and stressed that local authorities are indeed on the frontline of ensuring that free movement rules are implemented, the EPP statement said.

"The European Commission can help us improve our enjoyment of European rights. We must not shy away from using EU tools to improve local practices where these are evidently failing us. This is why the Maltese joined the UE after all, to improve our quality of life including our security. Government's insistence to deny public action on the massive failure with Malta's ID card system amounts to obstinate arrogance. As an elected MEP from Malta and Gozo I will use all EU tools at hand to Malta's benefit," concluded Dr Peter Agius.