Twice a missed chance: On citizenship, agency and movement in Commission v. Malta (citizenship for sale)

Both awaited and criticized, the Court of Justice's judgment in Commission v. Malta reflects a broader disquiet surrounding citizenship and its delicate task of sorting the ‘us’ and ‘them’. Amid this disquiet, the judgment delivers a seemingly straightforward message: money cannot ground the bonds of citizenship. The message however rests on shaky foundations. The Court deploys a vast array of concepts but leaves many underused or overstretched. In the haste to conclude that the Maltese investor citizenship scheme is in breach of the Treaties, the judgment ultimately misses two opportunities: first, to engage with the value of agency in the construction of citizenship; and second, to clarify how the relationship between citizenship and mobility has evolved in the penumbra of European citizenship.