Bulgaria's parliament has canceled a "golden passport" scheme that allowed wealthy foreigners to buy citizenship in a European Union country with an investment of 1 million leva ($562,366), Reuters reported.

After extensive criticism from the European Commission, the country's lawmakers have canceled a scheme under which more than 100 foreigners, mainly from Russia, China and the Middle East, since 2013 received passports that gave them access to all EU countries.

The move comes days after the European Parliament called on the EU to ban "golden passport" schemes by 2025 and immediately stop issuing visas and passports to wealthy Russians in exchange for investment.

Under the approved legal changes, Bulgaria will cancel the current applications under the scheme, and the security agency will review the citizenship already granted to check if there are grounds for its cancellation.

Brussels is pushing Bulgaria, as well as Cyprus and Malta, to end passport schemes from 2019, saying they expose the EU to security risks, corruption and tax evasion.