Belgian police raid EU diplomatic service/ Frederica Mogherini and 2 others arrested

2025-12-02 13:26:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Belgian police raid EU diplomatic service/ Frederica Mogherini and 2 others

Belgian police raided the EU diplomatic service in Brussels on Tuesday, along with the College of Europe in Bruges and private homes, as part of an investigation into suspected misuse of EU funds, according to people familiar with the investigation and witnesses.

Raids took place across Belgium in the early hours of the morning, with police seizing documents and arresting three people for questioning on suspicion of procurement fraud, corruption and criminal conflict of interest.

About 10 plainclothes officers entered the headquarters of the European External Action Service (EEAS) at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, an eyewitness said. Another EU official from the EU diplomatic service confirmed the raid.

The criminal investigation began after allegations that the EEAS and the College of Europe - the prestigious postgraduate training school for Eurocrats - misused EU public money in 2021 and 2022, according to four people with knowledge of the investigation.

The raids are the latest major scandal to hit EU institutions and will add to the pressure on the College of Europe and its rector, Federica Mogherini, who once headed the EEAS and began a second five-year term in Bruges this year.

Belgian federal police from West Flanders and the EU anti-fraud office, OLAF, participated in the operation as part of a criminal investigation led by the EU Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).

Investigators are examining whether the College of Europe or its representatives had prior knowledge of a public tender to finance the new EU Diplomatic Academy, an annual training program for European diplomats in Bruges which is funded by the EEAS.

The College of Europe, founded in 1949, is considered the EU's ultimate school for diplomats and civil servants, with alumni including politicians and senior officials in European institutions.

Investigators are focusing on the circumstances of the college's 3.2 million euro purchase of a building on Spanjaardstraat in Bruges, which houses diplomats attending the academy, the four people with knowledge of the investigation said.

The competition to host the academy required applicants to provide accommodation.

The College of Europe purchased the building in 2022 during a period of financial difficulties and shortly before the EEAS issued a tender that later awarded the institution 654,000 euros in funding, two people with knowledge of the investigation said.

Investigators examined allegations that the College of Europe and its representatives had access to confidential information regarding the tender, which was supposed to remain confidential to allow fair competition between institutions bidding to host the new academy.

OLAF, which has administrative powers to pursue suspicions of fraud involving EU money, interviewed several individuals before passing its findings on to the EPPO, which is tasked with investigating and prosecuting serious crimes against the EU's interests.

There is no indication that OLAF or the EPPO have reached conclusions about violations and no one has been formally charged yet.

The College of Europe and the new EU Diplomatic Academy are both led by Mogherini, the former Italian socialist foreign minister who headed the EEAS as high representative for foreign affairs between 2014 and 2019. She became the College's rector in 2020 and the academy's director upon its opening in 2022.

During the period under review, the EEAS was led by another former socialist foreign minister, Josep Borrell of Spain./CNA