Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Malta's citizenship for sale scheme, which he described as the best in the world, should continue in spite of the European Court of Justice ruling which deemed it to violate EU law.

Giving a first reaction on Facebook, the man who introduced the scheme which has now been found to go against European law said this was one of the few times that the European Court went against the advice of its own Attorney General.

This was a "political judgment", defiant Muscat wrote, in the sense that the court "knew the law was not on its side but reasoned beyond what is established at law".

The irony of this is that the judgment was based on Malta's transparent citizenship programme law, unlike what is available in other countries.

He said he believes that the programme should continue, with some changes, especially after the United States announced a similar initiative.

Muscat sarcastically thanked Roberta Metsola and the Nationalist Party who "worked against the country" from the first minute. Muscat said they worked against a programme that allowed the country to continue functioning during the pandemic, while other millions were given to NGOs and the Church.

He said that it is always better to bring in investment in the country rather than spend money on weapons.

In reply, former Repubblika president and Fondazione Falcone representative Robert Aquilia said that Muscat has not understood that "he is not Malta... and that he is just a black page in Malta's history".

He does not feel shame for bringing such a bad name to Malta, Aquilina said. The country, Aquilina wrote, should not have a reputation of being a pirate state as Muscat has brought it to be.

Muscat used to say to let institutions work, at a time when he had an "incestuous grip" on them, he said. Now that courts of law are exposing his deceit and abuse, he is attacking them, Aquilina wrote.

Muscat will be remembers for the damage he caused society and to Malta's reputation around the world, Aquilina wrote.