Former EU foreign policy chief Mogherini detained in Belgian corruption probe

Belgian federal judicial police arrested three people on Tuesday, among them Federica Mogherini, the former head of EU foreign policy who now serves as rector of the College of Europe in Bruges. The arrests came during coordinated raids on the European External Action Service headquarters in Brussels and the College of Europe campus, part of an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor's Office into suspected procurement fraud, corruption, conflict of interest and breaches of professional secrecy.

The allegations and the tender at issue

According to the EPPO, the investigation focuses on "strong suspicions" of fraud in the award of a tender to run a training programme for junior diplomats at the EU Diplomatic Academy during the 2021-2022 academic year. The academy sits within the EEAS, the EU's foreign policy body, which was at the time overseen by Josep Borrell, Mogherini's successor as High Representative. The EPPO said the three suspects, Mogherini, a senior College of Europe staff member, and an official from the European Commission, were questioned before being formally notified of the accusations. All three were released afterwards, with investigators indicating they were not considered flight risks.

The EPPO statement did not name the company that won the contract, nor did it specify the value of the tender. Procurement rules for EU institutions require open competition for contracts above certain thresholds, with the Financial Regulation setting out detailed procedures for award, evaluation and oversight. A contract for diplomatic training would typically fall under the EEAS's administrative budget, which is subject to the same rules as other Commission-managed funds. The involvement of a College of Europe staff member suggests the investigation is examining whether the institute, which Mogherini has led since 2020, played a role in shaping or influencing the tender process.

Mogherini's trajectory from foreign policy chief to academic rector

Mogherini served as the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy from 2014 to 2019, a period that included the negotiation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear programme and the facilitation of the Brussels-led dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo. Her tenure was marked by efforts to give the EU a more coherent foreign policy voice, though critics often noted the limits of European unity on major geopolitical files. After leaving the post, she was appointed rector of the College of Europe, the prestigious postgraduate institute in Bruges that has trained generations of EU officials. The college receives funding from EU member states and the European Commission, and its governing bodies include representatives from EU institutions.

The arrest of a figure of Mogherini's stature is unusual. Former EU high representatives have not previously been detained in criminal investigations related to their official functions or subsequent roles. The EPPO, which became operational in June 2021, has jurisdiction over fraud affecting the EU budget, corruption involving EU staff, and cross-border VAT fraud. Its involvement signals that the alleged fraud concerns EU funds directly, rather than purely Belgian domestic matters. The fact that searches extended to the EEAS headquarters, the nerve centre of EU diplomacy, indicates investigators believe relevant evidence is held within the institution's own records.

A pattern of scrutiny for EU institutions

The case arrives as the EU contends with a succession of corruption and influence-peddling investigations. The most prominent, known as Qatargate, erupted in December 2022 when Belgian prosecutors arrested several people including a European Parliament vice-president, alleging that Qatari and Moroccan officials had paid cash to sway EU decisions. Both governments denied wrongdoing. More than two years later, no convictions have been secured and the timeline for any trial remains uncertain. Earlier in 2024, a separate probe led to arrests over allegations that Chinese technology company Huawei bribed members of the European Parliament. In 2023, a former aide to Maximilian Krah, then a far-right MEP and now a member of the German Bundestag, was detained on suspicion of spying for China; Krah said he had no knowledge of the allegations against his former staffer.

These cases have prompted institutional responses. The European Parliament tightened its rules on lobbyists, gifts and side activities for MEPs. The Commission has emphasised its commitment to transparency and ethics, though critics argue the reforms are reactive and insufficient. The EPPO itself was created after years of negotiation precisely to address the perception that fraud against the EU budget was under-prosecuted at national level. Its first years have seen a steady flow of investigations, but high-profile arrests of senior former officials remain rare.

The College of Europe and its EU connections

The College of Europe occupies a unique position in the EU ecosystem. Founded in 1949, it was conceived as a training ground for the architects of European integration. Its funding comes from a mix of member state contributions, EU grants, and private sources. The European Commission provides a substantial annual grant, 12.5 million euro for the 2021-2027 period, according to the college's own financial reporting, and the EU's institutions are represented on its administrative board. The rector is appointed by the board, which includes the Commission's Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture. Mogherini's appointment in 2020 was seen as a natural progression for a former High Representative, but it also placed her in a position where her former EEAS colleagues were now counterparties in funding and procurement relationships.

The EU Diplomatic Academy, established within the EEAS in 2019, provides induction and continuous training for diplomats from member states and EU institutions. Its training programmes are procured through standard EU procedures. The 2021-2022 academic year would have been the academy's second full cycle of operations. The involvement of a Commission official among the suspects suggests the investigation is examining whether the tender process was manipulated at multiple levels, within the EEAS, which manages the academy, and potentially within the College of Europe, which may have bid for or influenced the contract.

Procedural questions and institutional exposure

Several procedural questions remain unanswered. The EPPO has not indicated whether the Commission official is attached to the EEAS, to the Directorate-General for Education and Culture, or to another service. The Financial Regulation requires that contracts above 15,000 euro follow a formal procurement procedure; for service contracts above the EU threshold, currently 215,000 euro, an open or restricted procedure with publication in the Official Journal is mandatory. If the diplomatic academy training contract exceeded that threshold, the tender documents, evaluation reports and award decision would be matters of public record. The EPPO's ability to seize documents from the EEAS and the College of Europe simultaneously suggests it secured judicial authorisation from a Belgian investigating judge, as the EPPO's European delegated prosecutors operate within national procedural frameworks.

The EEAS, unlike the Commission, does not have its own internal audit service with independent investigative powers; it relies on the Commission's Internal Audit Service and the European Court of Auditors for ex post scrutiny. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) can conduct administrative investigations into fraud involving EU funds, but it lacks coercive powers such as search and arrest. The EPPO's involvement marks a shift to criminal investigation, with the potential for prosecution in Belgian courts. The fact that the suspects were released without pre-trial detention suggests the investigating judge did not find sufficient grounds for remand at this stage, though the investigation continues.

Political reverberations in Brussels

The arrest has not yet drawn official comment from the European Commission, the EEAS, or the College of Europe beyond acknowledging the searches. The Commission's spokesperson said the institution would cooperate fully with the EPPO. The EEAS issued a brief statement confirming the search of its premises and stating that it was providing the requested documents. The College of Europe said it was cooperating with the investigation. In the European Parliament, the development is likely to fuel demands for stricter ethics rules covering former commissioners and senior officials who move into roles with EU funding links. The current Commission, under Ursula von der Leyen, has already faced criticism over transparency, most notably the ongoing controversy over text messages exchanged with Pfizer's chief executive during vaccine procurement negotiations, which the European Court of Justice recently ruled should have been disclosed.

For member states, the case is a reminder that the EU's anti-corruption framework remains a work in progress. The EPPO's 22 participating member states (Denmark, Ireland, Hungary, Poland and Sweden opted out) have granted it significant powers, but its effectiveness depends on national judicial cooperation. Belgium's federal judicial police executed the searches and arrests, underscoring that the EPPO relies on national enforcement capacity. The investigation's trajectory will be watched closely in capitals that have been sceptical of the EPPO's added value, as well as by those who see it as essential to protecting the EU budget.