La cittadinanza europea alla luce del recente caso Commissione c. Malta: tra tutela dei principi sovranazionali e salvaguardia della sovranità statale

ABSTRACT: This paper aims to critically analyze the judgment Commission v. Malta (C-181/23), the first ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union to censurе, within the context of an infringement procedure, a national law concerning the attribution of citizenship. In particular, with this decision, the Court found the Maltese citizenship-by-investment (CBI) program of 2020 (so-called Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment) incompatible with European Union law, specifically with the principles of solidarity, mutual trust, and loyal cooperation. While agreeing with the outcome of the ruling, which views the national regime as a manifestation of the commercialization of European citizenship, this paper highlights certain argumentative weaknesses in the Court’s reasoning, suggesting the need to rely on legally stronger arguments capable of justifying the EU’s interference in a matter that falls within the exclusive competence of the Member States.