Mur Lura
Malta closes negotiations on property, obtains permanent arrangement
pr1933
21/12/2001
21/12/2001
| Negotiations on property, one the most important negotiating issues for | Malta, were closed today during a specially-convened session of the conference on Malta’s accession to the European Union held in Brussels at the level of Deputies. Malta obtained a permanent special arrangement to retain restrictions on the purchase of property in Malta by foreigners even after EU membership. |
| Malta’s delegation was led by the Chairman of the | Core Negotiating Group, Mr. Richard Cachia Caruana. |
| The discussions on property were part of negotiations | on the area known as "free movement of capital" which deals with the liberalisation of the flow of capital between EU countries. |
| The closure of negotiations on this area brings the | number of chapters where Malta has provisionally closed talks to twenty out of a total of twenty-nine areas. |
| On the issue of property Malta had requested to | retain, on a permanent basis and by way of derogation from EU principles, current restrictions on the purchase of property in Malta by EU citizens. This request was made because of concern in Malta that, after membership, too many foreigners could buy secondary residences in Malta, thereby creating an adverse social impact for Maltese citizens if this led to an increase in the cost of property. |
| Currently, EU citizens can already acquire property | in Malta for use as a secondary residence, also known in Malta as Summer residence, but to do so they require a permit which is only granted for one property and is subject to qualifications, such as on the value of the property. No authorisation is granted for the purchase of more than one property. |
| This situation will now be retained even after | membership notwithstanding the fact that EU law allows EU citizens to purchase property freely in any EU country without any restrictions. |
| This will be possible following Malta’s | negotiations on this area where an agreement was reached today on a special permanent arrangement for Malta relating to property. The EU agreed that, bearing in mind the very limited number of residences in Malta and the very limited land available for construction purposes, which can only cover the basic needs created by the demographic development of the present residents, Malta may maintain restrictions, on a non-discriminatory basis, on the right of EU citizens, who have not legally resided in Malta for at least five years, to acquire and hold secondary residences. |
| This means that for EU citizens to have full rights | to purchase property in Malta, they would need to be resident in Malta for a period of at least five years. It also means that even after membership, EU citizens seeking to buy a secondary residence in Malta will still require to apply for an authorisation and satisfy conditions as is the case now and that no authorisation will be given for the purchase of more than one property, unless that citizen has been resident in Malta for at least five years. |
| A table outlining the features of this agreement is | attached to this release. |
| With regard to the purchase of primary residences by | EU citizens who want to settle in Malta permanently, the current situation is that prior authorisation is required, although this is granted automatically. After membership, the only change in this regard will be that no authorisation will be required. |
| Malta also agreed that, after membership, no | authorisation will be required when an EU citizen who has settled permanently in Malta wants to purchase property that is connected with such citizen's business activities in Malta. |
| The arrangement reached today is not a transitional | period but a permanent special arrangement. |
| In order to guarantee the permanent nature of the | special agreement, it was also agreed that this arrangement will be set out in a Protocol to be annexed to the Accession Treaty of Malta. This means that this arrangement cannot be altered in future unless Malta agrees to do so and that it cannot be attacked in a Court of Law. |
| Addressing the conference, the Chairman of the Core | Negotiating Group, Mr. Richard Cachia Caruana, expressed Malta’s satisfaction at the agreement reached today and the EU’s acceptance of Malta’s request. He said that the achievement of this agreement is significant not just because of its tangible meaning in substance, but equally because it is symbolic of the way that the Union is conducting negotiations, looking at each country – in this case Malta – according to its own specific, sometimes unique, circumstances. |
| This afternoon’s session was opened by Ambassador | Frans van Daele, on behalf of the Belgian Presidency. The Presidency expressed its satisfaction at Malta’s progress in negotiations and in particular on the agreement reached with Malta on the issue of property. |
| The session was also addressed by Mr. Eneko Landaburu, | Director-General for Enlargement in the European Commission who also expressed his satisfaction at the closure of negotiations on this area. He said that the arrangement with Malta on the acquisition of secondary residences by EU citizens is only acceptable to the EU because of Malta's unique demographic and geographical situation and the permanent nature of the natural constraints it faces. In particular, he added, this arrangement cannot set any precedent in the accession negotiations with any candidate country. |
| Mr. Cachia Caruana was accompanied by Mr. Victor | Camilleri, Malta’s Ambassador in Brussels, Dr Simon Busuttil, Head of the Malta-EU Information Centre and by a number of officials from Malta’s Embassy in Brussels. |
Purchase of SECOND or FURTHER property in MALTA |
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