The European Commission called on EU countries to deprive the citizenship of Russians and Belarusians who fell under sanctions after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. This is the so-called golden passport.
Some member states, including Malta, Cyprus and Greece, have in the past sold citizenship to wealthy oligarchs, mostly from Russia.
Thus, they received the rights of citizens of the Community, and this gave them access to the European financial markets, the single market or the Schengen area, which allowed them to travel freely within the European Union.
The European Commission recalled that it had repeatedly expressed serious concern about the so-called golden passports and pointed out the dangers.
“The Russian attack on Ukraine underscores these threats once again,” the Commission commented and recommended that Member States check who from Russia and Belarus has obtained EU citizenship and revoke it from those on the EU blacklist who are banned from entering the EU. and with blocked properties.