EPPO announced on Wednesday morning that charges were filed in connection with a corruption case involving the College of Europe in Bruges and the European External Action Service (EEAS). The two additional defendants are a senior official at the College of Europe and the director-general for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region at the European Commission — who also served as secretary-general of the EEAS between 2021 and 2025.
According to the statement, Belgian authorities detained all three individuals on Tuesday as part of the investigation but released them shortly afterward, as prosecutors assessed that there was no risk of flight.
“Each of the three individuals must be presumed innocent until their guilt is proven by the competent Belgian courts,” EPPO stressed.
Belgian police carried out coordinated early-morning raids on Tuesday at the EEAS headquarters in Brussels, at the College of Europe in Bruges, and at several private residences. The operations, conducted under EPPO’s direction and supported by the EU Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), resulted in the seizure of multiple documents.
Prosecutors say there is “strong suspicion of fraud” relating to a tender awarded for a nine-month training programme for young diplomats in 2021–2022. The tender was issued by the EU’s diplomatic service and ultimately won by the College of Europe.
Federica Mogherini, an Italian Socialist politician, previously headed the EU’s diplomatic service and currently serves as rector of the College of Europe, where she began her second five-year term earlier this year. During the period under investigation, the EEAS was led by Spain’s Josep Borrell.