The think-tank claiming EU offices are a "waste of taxpayers' money" is a highly Eurosceptic group of people funded by big business and out to "dilute" the EU, according to the head of the European Parliament Representation Office in Malta.
Julian Vassallo criticised the claims made by Open Europe but insisted every euro spent by the EU should be scrutinised carefully by everyone who had Europe at heart.
There was already a great deal of scrutiny in the EU and the money being spent on extra offices was not "enormous" or "excessive". About €41 million were used to build some 35 EU offices in various countries, amounting to just 8c per citizen, he said.
EU offices, such as the recently-inaugurated Europe House in St Paul Street, Valletta, were essential for the democratic function: to enable citizens to get information from their own country in their own language. "How would these people feel if there weren't such offices," he asked.
Open Europe's comments came just days after the official opening of Europe House that hosts the representation offices of the European Commission and the European Parliament. The building and its renovation cost EU taxpayers about €5 million. "But I don't think that is extravagant," Dr Vassallo said.
He said the EP office in Malta had a smaller annual budget than the salary of a European Commissioner, which was about €240,000. The vast majority of EU money was given to member states, not used by European institutions, and every cent spent had to be approved through a very strict process, which became stricter with time.
According to Open Europe, set up by some of the UK's leading business people to contribute "bold new thinking" to the debate about the EU's direction, the EP offices are not providing any important services not already provided by Brussels.
Open Europe said that only last year, the EP spent €41 million for "inefficient European Parliament information offices", which have a total of 237 full-time staff, each costing the taxpayer €173,124 a year. According to the think-tank, EP officials in these offices are paid on average €74,046 a year each.