Federica Mogherini, former head of diplomacy for the European Union (EU), resigned this Thursday, December 4, from her position as rector of the College of Europe, after being involved in a corruption investigation.
In a statement, Mogherini said that “in line with the utmost rigor and impartiality with which I have always carried out my duties, I have decided today to submit my resignation from the position of rector of the College of Europe and director of the Diplomatic Academy of the European Union”.
Federica Mogherini was indicted for the crimes of corruption, fraud, conflict of interest and breach of professional secrecy, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed.
The former EU High Representative for EU Foreign Policy and Security – and inherently vice-president of the community executive 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.
She was then interrogated for around 10 hours.
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.
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.