The ministry respects all the relevant laws, including the public procurement law and all construction-related laws, Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic told an extraordinary news conference.
She said that two contractors, Coning and Zagorje Beton, were chosen through a public invitation for bids in May 2005, and that Coning became the primary contractor in October.
Solely the contractor is responsible for everything that happens on the construction site, the minister said. She explained that Coning signed a contract with the subcontractor Teh-gradnja, which the media alleged had used undeclared workers, in June 2006, when the contractor supplied the ministry with a list of workers.
That list did not contain the names of the seven persons staying in Croatia illegally and who are being investigated by the Interior Ministry, said the minister.
She went on to say that Coning, which is owned by member of parliament Radimir Cacic, was asked for an explanation and that if labour law and legal provision breaches were established, the contract might be terminated.
"We are waiting for the results of the investigation because we still have no confirmation that those workers were indeed on the construction site," said Grabar-Kitarovic.
The Foreign Ministry said it was in touch with the Interior Ministry and that if irregularities were established, the State Inspectorate and other agencies would take appropriate action against the physical and legal persons responsible.
The Foreign Ministry said that appropriate state inspection bodies had come unannounced several times to supervise the construction works and check the construction books and list of workers, and that no irregularities had been found.
The minister went on to say that the Foreign Ministry building was being protected by the Interior Ministry. The building under reconstruction consists of two parts, one for technology and communications that is protected by the Interior Ministry and to which no construction worker had access, and one for construction works, which is being guarded by a security firm hired by the contractor.
The minister underlined that the construction part was physically separated from the one under Interior Ministry protection.
Novi List daily said today that undeclared workers had renovated the Foreign Ministry and that security checks in the selection of workers were minimal at even the most sensitive places, as confirmed by seven illegal workers caught renovating the building in downtown Zagreb.
The newspaper added that it was unusual that workers, illegal ones at that, were working without any security check on the construction site of one of the most important ministries.