EU's former chief diplomat quits College of Europe role after being named in fraud probe

Audio By Carbonatix

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s former foreign policy chief resigned on Thursday as head of a prestigious institute of European studies after becoming embroiled in a fraud investigation over a training program for junior diplomats.

Federica Mogherini said she was stepping down as Rector of the College of Europe, based in the Belgian city of Bruges, and as of the European Union Diplomatic Academy.

Mogherini's statement gave no reason for the resignation, saying only that she had done so “in line with the utmost rigor and fairness with which I always carried out my duties.”

“I am proud of what we have achieved together, and I am deeply grateful for the trust, esteem, and support that students, faculty, staff, and Alumni of the College and the Academy have shown and are showing to me,” she said.

As the EU’s top diplomat from 2014 to 2019, Mogherini was responsible for supervising the Iran nuclear talks, leading efforts to improve long-strained relations between Serbia and Kosovo, and a host of other foreign policy and security issues.

The arrest and resignation of the former Italian foreign minister could tarnish the EU’s image on the world stage as it seeks to assert influence in negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The bloc has been urging Ukraine to tackle rampant corruption.

Mogherini was detained for questioning Tuesday, along with a senior college staff member and a senior official from the European Commission, after authorities in Belgium raided the offices of the EU diplomatic service in Brussels and the college in Bruges. They were later released as they were not considered a flight risk,

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the raids over suspicions about the awarding of a project for the European Union Diplomatic Academy, which is a nine-month training program for junior diplomats across the EU's 27 member countries.

The project was awarded by the European External Action Service (EEAS) to the College of Europe in 2021. Prosecutors are investigating whether college staff or their representatives were informed in advance about the selection criteria for the tender procedure.

Prosecutors said they have “strong suspicions” that “confidential information related to the ongoing procurement was shared with one of the candidates participating in the tender.” They said their allegations “concern procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy,”

No outside actor, or country, has been named so far in the investigation.

Mogherini's successor as EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, ran the EEAS at the time the project was awarded. The budget for the diplomatic academy is relatively small. Around 1.7 million euros ($2 million) to cover spending on the training program from July 2024 to June 2025.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mogherini said that she “clarified” her position with investigators during the questioning. “I have full confidence in the justice system, and I trust that the correctness of the College’s actions will be ascertained,” she said.

Mogherini’s lawyer, Mariapaola Cherchi, told The Associated Press that her client was “transparent, clear and serene” during her 10-hour questioning, and was confident that Mogherini would be cleared.

The college said it would cooperate with the investigation and that it “remains committed to the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and compliance — both in academic and administrative matters.”

The corruption scandal is one of a growing number to hit European institutions.

Revelations of a cash-for-influence scheme dubbed Qatargate, involving EU lawmakers, assistants, lobbyists and their relatives, emerged in 2022. Qatari and Moroccan officials were alleged to have paid bribes to influence decision-making. Both countries deny involvement. No one has been convicted or is in pretrial detention, and prospects for a trial are unclear.

In March this year, several people were arrested in a probe linked to the Chinese company Huawei, which is suspected of bribing EU lawmakers.