Golden passports: European Commission and European Parliament reports built on quicksand

This paper analyses two reports and one recommendation by the European Commission and the European Parliament, all concerned with citizenship by investment (CBI), vulgo golden passports, and leaving golden visas out of the picture. These documents purport to ban CBIs in order to safeguard the integrity of Union citizenship, the corollary of possession of the nationality of an MS. Which are the legal bases for these interventions proffered by the EU institutions? Two strongholds have been put forward and will be commented upon – the theory of the genuine link (Nottebohm) and the obligation for genuine cooperation by the Member States. Both foundations are built on quicksand, as the analysis below demonstrates.