Malta's president signs citizenship programme into law

Malta's President George Abela has signed the amended Citizenship Act, through which non-EU citizens will be able to acquire Maltese citizenship on certain conditions, Depute Speaker Censu Galea announced at the opening of parliamentary session on Friday evening. Under the law, investors with a minimum contribution of 650,000 euros (870,000 U.S. dollars) can be granted Maltese citizenship, provided they meet due diligence criteria and pass a criminal background check. The amendments, which have officially become law, had been approved in their third and final reading on Tuesday, with the opposition -- Nationalist Party's MPs voting against. During the parliamentary debate leading to the approval of the amendments to the Act, The government assured that the scheme would bring 30 million euros for the public coffers, half of which will go directly in the Budget and the remaining half will be invested in a national development fund, while the Opposition calls for an referendum to disannul the law. Malta gained Independence from Britain in 1964, becoming a Republic in 1974 and the joining of the European Union in 2004. Malta joined the EU's borderless area, known as Schengen, in 2007.