Former EU chief diplomat Federica Mogherini detained in Belgium

Belgian police on Tuesday searched the College of Europe in Bruges and the European Union's diplomatic service in Brussels as part of a major European fraud investigation. Three suspects were detained after their legal immunity was lifted, according to website European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).

According to the investigation, in 2021-2022, the European External Action Service (EEAS) held a tender for the implementation of the EU Diplomatic Academy program, a nine-month training course for young diplomats of the Member States. The tender was won by the College of Europe.

The prosecutor's office believes that the college or its representatives could have learned about the selection criteria in advance and received confidential information about the procurement procedure before the official publication.

As reported by VRT NWS and the newspaper L'Echothe detainees allegedly include two well-known EU figures.

They write that it is the rector of the College of Europe Federica Mogheriniformer EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Stefano Sanino, former Secretary General of the EEAS.

Agency Belga writes that a European Commission spokesperson confirmed that police were present at the EEAS buildings "as part of an ongoing investigation into the activities of the previous mandate" and added that the Commission could not disclose details while the investigation was ongoing. He also refused to comment on the possible involvement of any specific individuals.

• Italian politician Federica Mogherini was the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in 2014-2019.
• Since September 2020, she has been the Rector of the College of Europe in Bruges.