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"If you have a lot of money that you acquired through dubious means, securing a new place to call home far away from the place you stole from isn't just appealing, it's sensible," Naomi Hirst of rights group Global Witness said.
MADRID, May 8 (Reuters) - Spain could pull the plug on its so-called "golden visa" scheme that grants residency rights to foreigners who invest in real estate in the country, according to the leader of a left-wing party negotiating the issue with the government.
Government schemes to trade citizenship or residence rights for large investment are currently applied in 13 EU countries: Austria, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Greece, Latvia, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Britain, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and France. Hungary has terminated its programme.
The European Commission will publish a report on schemes in EU countries by the end of the year, commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said on Wednesday. He said the report would offer guidance to member states on managing the programmes, "including on necessary background checks for applicants".
The report said in Malta, which has raised 718 million euros from its scheme, applicants who have criminal records or are under investigation could still be considered eligible "in special circumstances".
Iñigo Errejon told reporters on Monday his Mas Pais party had reached a preliminary agreement with the Social Security Ministry to put an end to the programme, which allows buyers of property worth at least 500,000 euros ($551,650) and their families to get three-year residency permits.
The ministry would not confirm any plan to terminate the programme. An official familiar with the talks said no agreement had yet been reached as the ministry was still studying proposals made by political parties.
EU states generated around 25 billion euros in foreign direct investment in a decade from selling at least 6,000 passports and nearly 100,000 residency permits, the report said using what it called conservative estimates.
The European Commission has urged EU countries to end programmes allowing investors to obtain citizenship and tighten checks when issuing residency permits, describing them as a security and money laundering risk.
BRUSSELS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it will provide guidance to EU states on how to manage national schemes to sell passports and residency permits to wealthy foreign citizens, as campaigners and lawmakers warned of money laundering risks.
The joint report by Global Witness and Transparency International urged the European Union to set standards for managing the schemes and to extend anti-money laundering rules, applied so far to banks or gaming firms, to all those involved in the visa-for-sale industry.
Cyprus has raised 4.8 billion euros ($5. Should you cherished this informative article along with you want to obtain more details relating to Invest Golden Visa generously go to the webpage. 51 billion) from its scheme, while Portugal could earn nearly a billion euros a year, according to figures cited in the report, called "European Getaway - Inside the Murky World of Golden Visas".
All the countries who run these schemes, except Britain, Cyprus, Ireland and Bulgaria, are part of the Schengen free-movement area which comprises 26 European states. ($1 = 0.8708 euros) (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alison Williams)
"Poorly managed schemes allow corrupt individuals to work and travel unhindered throughout the EU and undermine our collective security," Laure Brillaud, anti-money laundering expert at Transparency International, said.