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Roman Abramovich’s Quest for Portuguese Citizenship–An All-Access EU Pass

16 points by Geekette 3y ago

TechBro8615 3y ago
The EU passport mill used to be Cyprus (and probably it still is to some extent), then it was Portugal, and I'm sure some other country will be next. Citizenship is an anachronistic divisor of geopolitical power, and frankly it should be freely adoptable by anyone willing to pay whatever taxes they generate according to the residency requirements of their host nation(s). The idea that people can live in multiple countries per year but must be "from" only one of them - the natural assumption being everyone spends more than 180 days per year in a "primary residence" - is the complicating factor that makes citizenships so simultaneously desirable and controversial. If we could reform global tax law to be more "Nomad friendly," it would go a long way toward lowering the stigma around "passport collectors." Of course the tax issue is separate from the issue of sanctions and nationality, but it doesn't lessen the arbitrary nature of geopolitical allegiances. The US Treasury probably thinks Roman Abramovich more "Russian" than he thinks himself. Why should they have the final say on the matter? Personally, I've got a problem with sanctions as a tool of economic warfare - their powerful negotiating leverage comes at the cost of holding relatively innocent citizens responsible for the crimes of their government. This is less obvious with sanctions on "Russian oligarchs" than for those on any Iranian citizen, but in neither case is the brunt of the punishment felt by the politicians and weapons manufacturers who are most responsible for perpetuating an ongoing state of war.
- TheLoafOfBread 3y ago
  How do you resolve arresting people for criminal activities? Can a global cop go into USA and arrest a politician on behalf of China because he is threatening its national security? Can a global cop start arresting people in EU countries on behalf of Russia i.e. because they are calling SMO a war?
  - TechBro8615 3y ago
    You resolve it the same way you do now. It's not like police in the UK will refuse to arrest someone who is breaking UK law because they're not a UK citizen. So citizenship already has minimal impact on selective arresting policies. Extradition is another issue, but again, it's separate from citizenship and if anything, its current implementation is the most realpolitik demonstration of practical geopolitical power, since it's constrained first and foremost by the location of an individual, regardless of their residency or citizenship status.

16 points by Geekette 3y ago

The EU passport mill used to be Cyprus (and probably it still is to some extent), then it was Portugal, and I'm sure some other country will be next. Citizenship is an anachronistic divisor of geopolitical power, and frankly it should be freely adoptable by anyone willing to pay whatever taxes they generate according to the residency requirements of their host nation(s). The idea that people can live in multiple countries per year but must be "from" only one of them - the natural assumption being everyone spends more than 180 days per year in a "primary residence" - is the complicating factor that makes citizenships so simultaneously desirable and controversial. If we could reform global tax law to be more "Nomad friendly," it would go a long way toward lowering the stigma around "passport collectors." Of course the tax issue is separate from the issue of sanctions and nationality, but it doesn't lessen the arbitrary nature of geopolitical allegiances. The US Treasury probably thinks Roman Abramovich more "Russian" than he thinks himself. Why should they have the final say on the matter? Personally, I've got a problem with sanctions as a tool of economic warfare - their powerful negotiating leverage comes at the cost of holding relatively innocent citizens responsible for the crimes of their government. This is less obvious with sanctions on "Russian oligarchs" than for those on any Iranian citizen, but in neither case is the brunt of the punishment felt by the politicians and weapons manufacturers who are most responsible for perpetuating an ongoing state of war.

TheLoafOfBread 3y ago
How do you resolve arresting people for criminal activities? Can a global cop go into USA and arrest a politician on behalf of China because he is threatening its national security? Can a global cop start arresting people in EU countries on behalf of Russia i.e. because they are calling SMO a war?
- TechBro8615 3y ago
  You resolve it the same way you do now. It's not like police in the UK will refuse to arrest someone who is breaking UK law because they're not a UK citizen. So citizenship already has minimal impact on selective arresting policies. Extradition is another issue, but again, it's separate from citizenship and if anything, its current implementation is the most realpolitik demonstration of practical geopolitical power, since it's constrained first and foremost by the location of an individual, regardless of their residency or citizenship status.