Following questioning by the West Flanders Federal Police, Federica Mogherini, Stefano Sannino and Cesare Zegretti, implicated in the alleged scandal regarding funding for young European diplomats, were released overnight .
The European Public Prosecutor's Office, which is leading the investigation, announced the news. The charges concern procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest, and breach of professional secrecy, but the three were released because they were "not deemed a flight risk."
The investigation concerns the alleged misuse of EU funds by the EEAS and the College of Europe, of which Mogherini is President, in 2021 and 2022 , including the procurement to finance the new European Diplomatic Academy, an annual training program for diplomats funded by the EU Diplomatic Service and hosted in Bruges. Investigators are investigating whether the College of Europe or its representatives had advance access to confidential information about the tender. The case also focuses on the College's €3.2 million purchase of a building in Bruges in 2022 —a facility intended to house Academy participants—shortly before the EEAS launched a tender that was subsequently awarded to the College for €654,000 in funding. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) also participated in the operation, under the coordination of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). The affair increases pressure on the College of Europe and its rector , Federica Mogherini, former EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and now also director of the new Diplomatic Academy .
(Unioneonline)
