Federica Mogherini, the former EU High Representative and current Rector of the College of Europe, is among those arrested in the investigation that led to searches this morning at the European Union External Action Service (EEAS) and the College of Europe in Bruges, Le Soir reports.
Belgian federal police conducted searches at the European External Action Service (EEA) headquarters in Brussels, at the College of Europe in Bruges, and at several private homes as part of an investigation into the alleged misuse of EU funds. The operations began at dawn, seizing documents and detaining three people for questioning on suspicion of public procurement fraud, corruption, and criminal conflict of interest. According to a witness, about ten plainclothes officers entered the EEA headquarters around 7:30 a.m. In addition to Mogherini, those detained included former Ambassador Stefano Sannino, former Secretary General of the EEAS, and currently Director General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Middle East and North Africa.
The investigation concerns the alleged irregular use of EU funds by the EEAS and the College of Europe in 2021 and 2022, including the procurement to finance the new European Diplomatic Academy , an annual training programme 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 took part 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 director of the new Diplomatic Academy.
(Unioneonline)
