Under the microscope of Belgian authorities is former European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and current rector of the College of Europe, Federica Mogherini, who has been placed under detention. Who is the former Commission Vice President arrested for fraud involving EU funds?
Federica Mogherini was appointed High Representative of the European Union in August 2014, with the agreement of all 28 member states. Her candidacy was approved following a hearing and vote in the European Parliament for the entire European Commission, where she also held the position of Vice President. Speaking at her October 6th hearing, she emphasized that the key challenge is for the EU to answer its citizens’ questions: where does the European Union stand in a difficult world and how can it play a meaningful role.
Federica Mogherini: Her career in the EU
Before taking on her duties in the EU, Mogherini already had a significant political career. She served as Italy’s Foreign Minister from February 2014 and was a Member of Parliament from 2008, participating in defense and foreign affairs committees both in Italy and in international parliamentary organizations, such as the Council of Europe and NATO. Born in Rome in 1973, she is married, mother of two children, and holds a degree in Political Science.
Former head of European diplomacy Federica Mogherini was placed under detention as part of an investigation in Belgium for potential fraud in the use of European Union resources, a source from the investigation told AFP.
Federica Mogherini heads the College of Europe in Bruges and the investigation concerns suspicions of favoritism and potential unfair competition in the awarding by the European Union’s diplomatic service (EEAS) to the College of Europe of a nine-month training program for future EU diplomats.
Two other individuals, including a high-ranking European Commission official, have been arrested in Brussels as part of the investigation, according to the same source.
The Belgian authorities’ investigation
The investigation targets suspicions of favoritism and potential unfair competition in the awarding by the EEAS to the College of Europe of a nine-month training program for future EU diplomats.
The facts under investigation date back to the 2021-2022 period and the violations potentially concern “fraud in public procurement, corruption, conflict of interest and breach of professional secrecy,” according to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The College of Europe is a higher education institution that trains European public officials.
Investigators want to determine “whether the College of Europe or its representatives had been informed in advance of the selection criteria” in the context of the bidding process carried out by the EU’s diplomatic service for a training program.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, officially established in 2021, is an independent EU body responsible for fighting fraud in Union funding and any other violation affecting its financial interests (corruption, money laundering, cross-border VAT fraud).
This supranational body has been tasked with investigating, prosecuting and bringing to justice the perpetrators of such violations, a power that the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf) did not possess.
The investigation is co-led by an investigator from West Flanders, the Belgian province where Bruges is located. The searches were conducted by Belgium’s federal police.
Before this police operation, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested the lifting of immunity of suspects, which was granted, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office also emphasized, without mentioning names or positions.
