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LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government was warned for the last time by the European Commission over its’ ‘golden passport’ scheme before taking the matter before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The commission considers the granting of EU citizenship in return for pre-determined payments or investments, without any genuine link to the Member State concerned, is in breach of EU law.
However, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela is refusing to scrap the scheme, and now his government has two months to reply to the European Commission.
Malta has recently suspended the ‘golden passport’ scheme for Russian and Belarusian nationals following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“While this was a positive step, Malta continues to operate the scheme for all other nationals and did not express any intention to stop it,” the commission said. Insisting that European values are not for sale, the European Commission said investor citizenship schemes undermine the essence of EU citizenship and have implications for the Union as a whole.
Malta and Cyprus are the only two EU countries selling passports following last month decision by the Bulgarian government to scrap its scheme. EU citizenship automatically gives the right to free movement, access to the EU internal market, and the right to vote and be elected in European and local elections.
The Maltese government is argueing that the grant of citizenship falls within the national competence “and it should remain as such.” The ggovernment reiterated that only worthy individuals benefit from an important right as citizenship on such basis, and that it will be keeping an open dialogue with the Commission.
Despite Abelàs reassurances from the Maltese Prime Minister that no Maltese citizen is on the Russian sanctions list, last week the US treasury department sanctioned two Russian individuals who bought Maltese passports. In response to the sanctions, the Maltese government started the process to revoke their Maltese citizenship in accordance with the Maltese Citizenship Act.
During the recent election campaign, Abela was accused of having direct financial interest in Maltàs ‘golden passports’ scheme, with his wife Lydia Abela having been listed as the accredited agent of a passport sales in 2018. Abela has also admitted to renting out his ?ejtun villa to two Russian passport applicants.
(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Experts from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are in Malta on a three-day visit to assess whether the Maltese authorities have started to implement the necessary reforms to improve the fight against money laundering and tax evasion following the decision taken in June, 2021 by the FATF to include Malta on its grey list.

The grey list is updated by the FATF regularly and if countries commit to implementing the necessary reforms and thus improving their legal framework to bring it in line with FATF standards, then it is possible that these countries will be removed from the organisation’s grey list.

The FATF team are holding meetings with various Maltese government officials to assess if the country is doing enough to combat financial crime.

The decision to carry out an onsite visit was confirmed by the FATF at its plenary session in February 2022 wherein it was expressed that Malta has substantially completed its action plan. Last month, the FATF publicly announced that initial indications showed Malta had substantially completed its action plan and appeared to have addressed the shortcomings identified ten months ago. However, the FATF is expected to announce its decision about Maltàs greylist status during its next plenary session, scheduled for June.

As a major fiscal centre, the gambling and financial services industries play a key role in Maltàs economy – as of last year, betting and gaming generated €700 million annually and accounted for 12% of the nation’s GDP. Malta also provides a base for headquarters or regional offices of over 250 betting operators including Betsson, Tipico and William Hill. As of last year, the gambling industry, directly and indirectly, supported 9,000 jobs on the island.

(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese health authorities confirmed that 719 news Covid-19 cases were recorded during the last 24 hours. This is the highest number of positive cases registered since January, 8.

According to the health authorities, 329 patients recovered from COVID-19. However, the recent spike led to a total of 7,537 active cases.

Meanwhile, five new deaths were recorded bringing the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 649.
(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The President of Malta George Vella in an official declaration expressed his hope that the apostolic visit of Pope Francis to Malta “will bring both material and spiritual joy, so that unity and peace may continue to flourish” among the people of Malta.

While describing the Popès visit as “successful”, he thanked the public for attending in large numbers to all the events.

Pope Francis expressed his “deep gratitude” to the Maltese people in a telegram he sent to President George Vella at the end of his packed two-day journey to the island. “As I depart from Malta on my return to Rome, I express my deep gratitude to your excellency, the civil authorities and all the Maltese people,” the Holy Father wrote. “I pray that, through the intercession of Saint Paul the Apostle, your nation will be abundantly blessed by almighty God,” he added.

Speaking to journalists on the flight from Malta to Rome on Sunday evening, Pope Francis said he was impressed and “amazed”by the peoplès enthusiasm shown during his visit in Malta and Gozo, adding that the trip to Malta helped him understand the different realities of the country.

In his comments, Pope Francis also declared that returning asylum seekers intercepted at sea to Libya is “criminal.” While stressing on the need for greater European solidarity, the Pontiff said Europe should open its doors for migrants crossing the Mediterranean in the same way it is welcoming Ukrainians fleeing their war-torn country.

Pope Francis also confirmed that a trip to Ukraine “remains on the table”. “Many suggested that I should go to Ukraine, and I will do whatever I can. The answer is not a ‘nò. If we can do it, we should.”

While in Malta, Pope Francis referred twice to the Russian invasion of Ukraine making a heartfelt appeal: “Let us pray for peace, thinking of the humanitarian tragedy of tormented Ukraine, still under the bombardments of this sacrilegious war.”

Many Ukrainian flags greeted the Pope outside the Peace Laboratory, most of them carried by members of the Ukrainian community in Malta.

(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – While the Maltese health authorties are registering an increase in the positive cases of coronavirus and as from today started relaxing more anti-Covid measures, the union representing the nurses declared that the main general hospital in Malta is in severe crises because it cannot cope anymore with the influx of new cases.

The number of cases increased over recent days, with the seven-day average of 640 new cases daily. Malta has 7,188 active cases of Covid-19 following the 530 new cases and 249 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The new cases were identified through 2,754 tests, representing a positivity rate of 19.2%. During the last 24 hours, three more deaths were registered, bringing the total number of deaths to 642 since the start of the pandemic.

“Seeing the desperate situation at Mater Dei Hospital, MUMN is urging the health ministry to reduce elective surgery and to start acting responsibly since hospital cannot keep functioning with such a high influx of Covid cases,” the union said. “Mater Dei Hospital is in severe crisis with Covid patients being spread in all wards,” the union added. MUMN said more than 150 Covid patients are spread in all wards and this pose “a high risk of cross infection among the whole hospital.”

The union referred to the nursing shortage caused by the huge amount of nurses in quarantine resulting in several wards having just two or three nurses instead of six nurses in several wards. Pointing out that three wards had to be dedicated fully for Covid patients, MUMN said it had to issue directives during the weekend to ensure that more nurses were added to the roster due to the severe burnout of nurses.

The union said that Mater Dei Hospital has six designated areas which are not meant to be wards but are being used as wards, including corridors, the library and the staff canteen making it harder for the nurses to give the medical care to the patients.

The union also warned Health Minister Chris Fearne that the handling of the situation should not be dictated by political motivations.

Meanwhile, after resisting calls to introduce self-testing, the Maltese government will allow such testing to take place as of this week. Minister Chris Fearne said that this will alleviate the influx of appointments being made for swab tests and is in line with government’s intention to encourage more self-regulation than strict measures. Despite being widely available in many EU countries, self-test kits had been banned in Malta, leading people to shop on the black market.

Minister Fearne added that vulnerable people will be offered a second booster shot and from 13 April children will no longer need to wear a mask in schools. He added that from 12 April, most of those flying to Malta from a red country will need a vaccine or recovery certificate which is not older than 180 days, or a negative PCR which must be done within 72 hours before travelling.

Referring to the situation at the Intensive Care Unit, Fearne said the number of people in intensive care remained low, with five patients currently in the ITU with Covid. This, he said, remains the lowest rate of people in ITU in all of the EU.

Fearne was interviewed over the phone by the state broadcaster after testing positive to Covid-19, days after the end of the election campaign which saw big crowds gather for political events with little regard to Covid protocols.
(ITALPRESS).

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Pope Francis left Malta on Sunday evening for Rome, after meeting around 200 migrants at John XXIII Peace Laboratory in Hal Far to highlight the plight of people taking the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean in hope for a better life. The meeting was requested by the Pope personally.

Fr Dionysius Mintoff, the founder of the Peace Laboratory emphasised that it is a Christian duty to provide care and comfort to those in need. Two migrants addressed the Pope; Daniel Jude Oukeguale, a Nigerian national who left his hometown five years ago and Siriman who has been living in Malta for the past 4 years with his wife who expecting a child. Among those present who spoke to Pope Francis at the end of the meeting, was Amara, one of three teenagers fighting controversial terrorism charges in Maltese courts, after being accused with two other migrants of hijacking a ship called the El-Hiblu in 2019.

Pope Francis highlighted the motto chosen for his apostolic visit – “they showed us unusual kindness” – which refers to the reception of St Paul and fellow travellers were given when they shipwrecked off the Maltese coast. “It is my hope that Malta will always treat those who land on its shores, offering them a genuinely safe harbour,” he added. While thousands who are crossing the Mediterranean are seeking a better life experienced shipwrecks as Saint Paul had done, Pope Francis spoke of another tragedy: a “shipwreck of civilisation” which is threatening us all. Pope Francis emphasised that the response to this threat to our civilisation has to be countered with kindness and humanity. He referred to Siriman’s account, stating that this could be done by regarding people not merely as statistics, but recognising them for what they really are, people who each had their own life stories and dreams. The Pope expressed his hope that migrants not only receive a welcome rich in kindness and humanity, but that they, to, become witnesses and agents of welcome and fraternity.
“Here is the future of the human family in a globalized world. I am happy to be able to share this dream with you today, just as you, in your testimonies, which you have shared your dreams with me,” he said. In his address, the Pope recognised that pursuing such an aim is no easy task, requiring immense patience and a love made up of closeness, tenderness and compassion. He also emphasised that the fundamental rights of millions of migrants were being violated, “sadly at times with the complicity of the competent authorities.” The Pope asked those gathered to pray for those who have lost their lives as they hoped to reach safety in Europe, including the death of a number of people leaving Libya a few days ago. He recalled his past visits to the Mediterranean islands of Lesbos and Lampedusa, two islands which have witnessed significant migratory flows.

The Ukrainian flags outside Peace Laboratory were flown by members of Maltàs Ukrainian community, in the wake of Russiàs invasion of their homeland which has caused what the United Nations has described as Europès fastest-growing refugee crisis since the Second World War.

The Popès visit in Malta came just one day after more than 100 people, including 22 minors, were left stranded at sea, with the NGO Sea LIfe that rescued them from the sea said that the Maltese authorities had refused to assist. It is not the first time Malta has refused to offer a port of safety for people at sea, with the island often urging other EU member states to support with the influx of asylum seekers.

Pope Francis arrived in Malta on Saturday. He urged Malta to fight corruption and land speculation while addressing the Maltese authorities in Valletta.

(ITALPRESS).

FLORIANA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Pope Francis’ visit to Malta has entered its final day and reached its peak on Sunday in which he celebrated a mass attended by some 20,000 people. The mass in Floriana was followed by the recitation of the Angelus.
At the end of the Angelus, the Pope turned his attention to the humanitarian tragedy continuing to unfold in Ukraine. “May we be tireless in praying and in offering assistance to those who suffer,” he said. “Peace be with you.” Referring to his apostolic visit to Malta, Pope Francis said: “I will bring back many memories of the events and conversations of these days. Above all, I will remember many of your faces, as well as the luminous face of Malta! I thank all those who worked so hard to prepare for this visit, and I cordially greet our brothers and sisters of the different Christian denominations and religions whom I have met in these days,” he said. “I ask all of you to pray for me, as I will for you. Let us pray for one another.” The Maltese islands, the Pope said, “breathe a sense of the People of God,” and he hoped that they may long continue to do so, following the example of Saint Gorg Preca, before turning his attention to the young “who are your future.” “Dear friends, I want to share with you the most beautiful thing in life. Do you know what it is? It is the joy of giving ourselves completely in love, which makes us free. That joy has a name: it is Jesus. I wish you the beauty of falling in love with Jesus, the God of mercy, who believes in you, dreams with you, loves your lives and will never disappoint you,” he said. The Pope also urged the young not to forget their roots, and to ensure that they keep in contact with the elderly, including their own grandparents.
The Popès address was made shortly after Archbishop Charles Scicluna expressed a few words of thanks for his Apostolic Visit to Malta. But the Pope insisted that in fact, he should really be the one saying “grazzi.” As he expressed his gratitude towards Pope Francis for his decision to visit Malta, Maltàs Archbishop Charles Scicluna expressed his hope that it would instill in the Maltese the same warmth of charity and unusual kindness that they had shown when they welcomed St Paul nearly two thousand years ago.
During the homily, Pope Francis warned the faithful against using an outward religiosity to “conceal the worm of hypocrisy” and point their fingers at others, emphasising that it was their behaviour which proved whether they were true disciples of Christ. His reflections were inspired by the Gospel reading of the day: the account of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery. Pope Francis thus urged the faithful to ask themselves, whenever they prayed or participated in religious services, whether they were truly attuned to the Lord. The Pope also took the occasion to express his gratitude at the strong presence of the Catholic Church in Malta, observing that in Malta, the people of God were “numerous and lively, faithful in seeking the Lord through a concrete, lived faith. For this, I thank all of you”.
On the way to Floriana, the Pope has stopped for a short visit to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Hamrun, the chapel established by the Society of Christian Doctrine (MUSEUM) founded by Saint Gorg Preca. It houses the sacred remains of the saint, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.
Early Sunday morning, Pope Francis met with the Jesuits community at the Apostolic Nunciature in Rabat. Then, the Pontiff also visited St Paul’s Grotto at St Paul’s Basilica in Rabat where tradition says that St Paul lived during his stay in Malta. He mentioned that St Paul was welcomed by kindhearted pagan people, who treated him well. He prayed to God that as a nation understand the needs of immigrants and stated that mercy should not be lost with frivolous words but should be accept it. He also met with 14 representatives of different churches, who included Orthodox and Protestants. Many Rabat residents have gathered this morning in front of the St Paul’s Basilica to welcome Pope Francis. The crowd includes adults and children, many carrying the Vatican flag.
(ITALPRESS).

GOZO (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Pope Francis was given a memorable welcome during his visit in Gozo late Saturday afternoon following an official meeting with the Maltese authorities in Valletta, Malta. The Pontiff is on a two-day apostolic visit to the Mediterranean island. Thousands of children and people of all ages waved the papal and Maltese flags on his way to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Tà Pinu in Gozo.
Addressing the hundreds of people at the Basilica, Pope Francis reiterated how crucial is the geographical position of the Maltese islands. “Yours is a crucial geographical position, overlooking the Mediterranean; you are like a magnet and port of salvation for people buffeted by the tempests of life who, for various reasons, land on your shores,” he said.
In his homily at Tà Pinu, Pope Francis warned that the repertoire of religious traditions does not always correspond to a vibrant faith marked by zeal for evangelization. It is important to ensure that religious practices are not reduced to relics of the past, he warned, as he underlined that religious practices should remain the expression of a living, open faith that spreads the joy of the Gospel.
Pope Francis was welcomed by he head of the diocese of Gozo Mgr. Anton Teuma. The Bishop of Gozo urged the Pope to help the Maltese and Gozitans so that like Mary will muster the courage to welcome those fleeing from wars and poverty, and seek refuge in the country. Addressing families who carry out pastoral work, civil leaders, priests, religious people, missionaries as well as members of ecclesiastical organisations and lay people gathered inside and outside the Basilica, Mgr. Teuma asked the Pope to help the faithful to consider wealth as a gift from God and share it with their brothers and sisters, instead of using it to corrupt, discriminate or create conflict and division. He also asked Pope Francis to help the faithful pray so that they may feel more responsible for the environment which he said is “disappearing from before our eyes without us realising.”
At the begining of the cermony, Pope Francis led the prayers inside the basilica. Then, the Pontiff presented the Golden Rose on the occasion of his visit to the Marian shrine in accordance with an ancient practice by which Popes show their devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It consists of a pink marble base, surmounted by a silver vase with the papal coat of arms, from which emerge the branches with two roses in natural amber and the leaves chased in silver.
On Sunday morning, after a private meeting with the Jesuits at the Apostolic Nunciature, the Pope will visit St. Paul’s Grotto in St. Paul’s Basilica in Rabat and at 10:15am, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in Floriana which will also include the Angelus prayers. As many as 12,000 people had registered to attend the mass. Before leaving Malta, Pope Francis will visit migrants at the Peace Laboratory in Hal Far.

(ITALPRESS).