Former EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini was one of three suspects detained on Tuesday in a police search of the EU diplomatic service in Brussels and an elite university in Bruges.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said its fraud investigation was targeting the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the College of Europe and was related to EU-funded training courses for diplomats.
It said the suspects’ homes were searched as part of the operation, while also stressing that they were all innocent until proven guilty under Belgian law.
What did the prosecution service say about the investigation?
The EPPO said its investigation focused on “a nine-month training program for junior diplomats” and its tender process in 2021 and 2022, which the EU diplomatic service EEAS provided to the College of Europe.
“The investigation focuses on whether the College of Europe and/or their representatives were informed in advance about the selection criteria of the tender procedure and had sufficient reason to believe that they would be entrusted with the implementation of the project before the official production of the tender notice by the EEAS,” the EPPO said.
It said there was “strong suspicion” that fair competition regulation had been breached, and that “confidential information relating to an ongoing procurement was shared with one of the candidates participating in the tender.”
The EPPO said the facts under investigation may involve “procurement fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and violations of professional confidentiality”.
Who is Federica Mogherini?
Federica Mogherini was the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy from 2014 to 2019.
Before his time as the EU’s top diplomatic representative, the 52-year-old centre-left Italian politician spent six years representing Lazio I, a district of Rome, in the Italian parliament. He held various foreign policy-related functions and roles in Italian politics before and as a lawmaker.
Mogherini spent a brief stint as Italy’s foreign minister in 2014 before taking up the top foreign policy post in Brussels later that year.
In 2020, he was appointed Rector of the College of Europe.
She is also Director of the European Union Diplomatic Academy and was in charge of the EEAS during her five years as European Commissioner.
What is the College of Europe, EEAS and EPPO?,
The College of Europe is a postgraduate university that trains diplomats and has its roots in the early progenitors of the European Union.
It was founded in 1949, shortly after the end of World War II, “to promote the spirit of solidarity and mutual understanding among all the nations of Western Europe and to provide specialized training to individuals who will uphold these values.”
Its main campus is in Bruges in northern Belgium, and it also has new campuses in Warsaw, Poland and Tirana, Albania.
The President of the College of Europe is Herman Van Rompuy, another experienced EU politician, former Prime Minister of Belgium and President of the European Council.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) was established in 2010 to assist the EU’s foreign policy commissioner.
It is the diplomatic service in charge of executing the EU’s international relations on behalf of the Commissioner. According to its 2024 annual activity report, its budget that year was €880.2 million (about $1.02 billion at current exchange rates).
Finally, the EPPO is the EU’s independent public prosecution office. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing judgments on crimes against the financial interests of the EU.
Edited by: Kieran Burke