Poland’s ‘Dar Malta’ costs twice as much

Poland has spent twice as much as Malta to have new premises for its permanent representation to the EU in Brussels.

Located in Rue Stevin, close to the headquarters of the European Commission, the building is central but not as much as Dar Malta on Rue Archimede.

The six-storey building cost the Polish taxpayer €40.1 million compared to the €21 million spent by the Maltese government on its premises that is only slightly smaller.

Dar Malta, a 13-storey building just metres away from the Commission’s Berlaymont headquarters, had been bought for €15 million with a further €5.75 million being spent for its refurbishment. The cost per square metre of office space amounted to €4,320 given that the Maltese property, which was opened in 2007, covers an area of 4,860 square metres.

Three floors in Dar Malta are rented out to commercial entities. These will be vacated when the island takes over the rotating presidency of the EU in 2017 because more officials will be needed to handle the task.

According to information given by the Polish permanent representation, Poland spent €6,135 per square metre to have its officials working closer to the EU institutions. The building has 6,500 square metres of office space.

Poland will be assuming the EU presidency for the first time in July.