Government will make sure that the investment made will reap the desired results in terms of Maltese representation in European Union institutions, the statement continued.

The Malta Labour Party was contradicting itself when on the one hand it was saying it will work to get the best out of Malta’s EU membership, and on the other hand was mounting a systematic campaign to create doubts about the purchase of the property.

The latest attempt was made by Opposition Leader Alfred Sant when he spoke about the appointment of architects who helped the government in the purchase of the building.

The DOI said that when MIMCOL began considering three buildings in Brussels, it appointed a company of Belgian architects and engineers, SSA/XX, led by Professor Guy Chatel, and assisted by Jan Moens, Kris Koremans and Dirk Jaspaert. The company provided MIMCOL with information on the structural strength of the three buildings.

At the same time, Confinimmo, the company that owned the building that was eventually bought by Malta, appointed architect Daniel Dethier to direct structural alterations that needed to be made once the contract was signed. Mr Dethier drew up the original refurbishment plans, the DOI said.

MIMCOL appointed architect Martin Xuereb to help Mr Dethier finalise the plans because every embassy has its own particular needs, the DOI added. The choice of Mr Xuereb was based on his professional capabilities in similar projects, which include work at the British High Commission and the Dutch Embassy. Mr Xuereb had not worked for the government for the past 15 years, the DOI concluded.