Federica Mogherini, rector of the College of Europe and former head of European Union (EU) diplomacy, was indicted for the crimes of corruption, fraud, conflict of interest and breach of professional secrecy, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed.
Federica Mogherini, former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy during the presidency of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (2014-2019), was detained on Tuesday, following searches carried out on the premises of the College of Europe.
The former head of diplomacy for the European community bloc has been rector of that academic institution in the Belgian city of Bruges since September 2020.
At issue is the alleged favoritism of an application for a project to educate young diplomats that received EU funding.
According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the winning project had access to confidential information that benefited it.
Italian diplomat Stefano Sannino, current director general of the European Commission’s department for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, is also indicted for the same crimes and was one of the three arrested.
Sannino was executive secretary general of the European External Action Service.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office also searched the premises of the EU External Action Service, in Brussels, which coordinates community diplomacy and is currently supervised by Kaja Kallas, current EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, a role that Federica Mogherini performed between 2014 and 2019.
In addition to the former vice-president of the European Commission and the Italian diplomat, an employee of the College of Europe was also detained and faces the same charges.
The three were released, as the European Public Prosecutor’s Office says there is no danger of escape.
The College of Europe is known as the academic institution of Europe’s elite and is a renowned school for training diplomats.
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, attended the institution, as did the former Presidents of the European Commission Jacques Delors and Jean-Claude Juncker, and the Polish Prime Minister and former President of the European Council Donald Tusk.