Serious fraud allegations cost ex-EU top diplomat her job

After fraud allegations The former EU foreign affairs representative is all about EU funds Federica Mogherini resigned from her post as rector of the elite College of Europe university. “In accordance with the highest discipline and fairness with which I have always carried out my duties, I have decided today to resign as Rector of the College of Europe,” Mogherini said in Brussels on Thursday. The Belgian authorities are investigating fraud and corruption.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office had one on Wednesday criminal proceedings against Mogherini, her deputy Cesare Zegretti as well as the former Director General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Stefano Sanniniinitiated. They are accused of “procurement fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and violation of professional secrets.” Sannini had already announced on Wednesday that he would retire early.

Investigators suspect that the EEAS may have provided the College of Europe with funds for a training program for diplomats. The Belgian authorities therefore searched rooms at the EEAS in Brussels, the College of Europe in Bruges and the houses of several suspects on Tuesday and arrested the three suspects.

Illegally collected funding

According to the public prosecutor’s office, the university was awarded the contract for the program advertised by the EAD in 2021 and 2022 and received funding for it. According to their own statements, the investigators are checking whether both sides agreed while a public tender was actually running. Such an approach would be prohibited because it would give the College of Europe an unfair advantage over other applicants.

An EAD spokeswoman said the investigation was about previous mandates. The current mandate has been running for around a year, and since then Estonian Kaja Kallas has been at the head of the EEAS as EU foreign affairs representative. Her predecessor was the Spaniard Josep Borrell. The alleged fraud cases occurred during his term of office. Previously, Mogherini was EU foreign policy chief from 2014 to 2019. She took up her current position as Rector of the College of Europe in 2020 and has been in her second five-year term since September. The diplomat Sannini was Secretary General of the EEAS from 2021 to 2024.

The College of Europe is a private university for European studies. The graduates include numerous EU diplomats, Commission officials and politicians.