The rector of the College of Europe Federica Mogherini has been formally charged alongside two others in the suspected fraud case involving EU-funded training for junior diplomats.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) announced that formal charges had been filed against three individuals on Wednesday morning.
Yesterday, Belgian police conducted searches in several buildings of the College of Europe in Bruges, the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, and at the houses of suspects, according to a statement from the EPPO.
Three individuals were detained, including the rector and a senior staff member of the College of Europe in Bruges Federica Mogherini, as well as a senior official from the European Commission, reportedly Stefano Sannino.
Sannino is the general manager of the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf Service at the European Commission, and was the Secretary General of the EEAS from 2021 to 2025.
Mogherini was the former head of the EU's foreign office (EEAS) and became rector of the College of Europe in 2020 and became director of the diplomatic academy in August 2022. She is also a former Italian foreign minister.
After being questioned by the Belgian Federal Judicial Police (FGP West-Vlaanderen), the three individuals were formally notified of the accusations against them.
The accusations concern procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy. They were released, as they are not considered a flight risk, according to the prosecutor.
The EU-funded training program in question is the European Union Diplomatic Academy – a nine-month training program for junior diplomats across Member States.
College of Europe Campus Brugge postgraduate institute of European studies, Tuesday 02 December 2025 in Brugge. Rector of the College of Europe Mogherini has been arrested in an investigation into fraud in the diplomatic training. Credit: Belga / Kurt Desplenter
The tender was awarded by the European External Action Service to the College of Europe in Belgium for the 2021–2022 period.
Investigators are looking into whether the College of Europe was informed in advance about the selection criteria for the tender process, and whether they were told they would be awarded the project before the official publication of the tender notice.
There are strong suspicions that confidential information on the procurement was shared with one of the candidates participating in the tender.
The EPPO said on Wednesday that no further details would be made public about the ongoing investigation, in order not to endanger its outcome.
The European Commission confirmed the arrests on Tuesday but declined to comment.
