Replying to a Department of Information statement issued on Tuesday, Dr Sant said that the Belgian architects appointed by the company that owned the building and by the government, took care of the structural changes that needed to be made.

“How extensive was this work? What did it consist of and what is the difference between this work and the refurbishment that the government had mentioned earlier? What is the cost of these structural alterations? Is it true that there are pending issues about this refurbishment with authorities in Brussels? How did the government appoint its Belgian consultants? The government statement does not say anything about this,” Dr Sant said.

The government had now admitted that a Maltese architect, Martin Xuereb, had been appointed to help in the finalisation of the plans.

It was said that Mr Xuereb was chosen after his work on the British High Commission and the Dutch Embassy.

These two buildings cannot be compared to the Brussels building, Dr Sant said, adding that the criteria for the selection are not understood.

Who decided to appoint Mr Xuereb? asked Dr Sant. How much is he being paid? The government should publicly confirm that Mr Xuereb was involved in professional work done for former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, Dr Gonzi, Malta’s EU representative Richard Cachia Caruana, MIMCOL chairman Ivan Falzon and for other MIMCOL board members.

It is a shame that at a time when Dr Gonzi is criticising the public service because of overtime in summer, the government did not appoint its own architects for work they are capable of doing and were already being paid for.

Dr Sant said that there should be absolute transparency about Malta’s embassy in Brussels. But “we are not getting it,” he said.