Belgian police carried out dawn raids on the European Union’s diplomatic service in Brussels and the College of Europe in Bruges on Tuesday, as part of a criminal investigation into alleged misuse of EU funds linked to the EU Diplomatic Academy training programme. Three people have been detained for questioning.
Around ten plainclothes officers entered the headquarters of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels at about 07:30 on 2 December. Parallel searches took place at several College of Europe premises in Bruges and at private homes across Belgium. Documents and electronic material were seized.
The operation is being led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which confirmed that Belgian police had raided the EEAS and the College of Europe and that three suspects had been detained. The probe concerns suspected procurement fraud, corruption and criminal conflicts of interest. EPPO did not name the suspects or institutions involved and declined to provide further details while the investigation is ongoing.
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is understood to have played an initial role by conducting administrative inquiries into allegations of misuse of EU budget funds between 2021 and 2022. After interviewing several individuals, OLAF transmitted its findings to EPPO, which has competence to investigate and prosecute criminal offences affecting the EU’s financial interests.
Investigators are examining whether the College of Europe or its representatives had access in advance to confidential information about a public tender to host and run the EU Diplomatic Academy, an EEAS-funded annual training programme for European diplomats based in Bruges. The tender required applicants to demonstrate that they could provide suitable accommodation for participants.
A particular focus of the inquiry is the College of Europe’s acquisition, in 2022, of a residential building on Spanjaardstraat in Bruges for about €3.2 million. The property currently houses diplomats attending the academy. The purchase occurred during a period of reported financial strain for the institution and shortly before the EEAS launched a tender which later awarded the college around €654,000 in EU funding.
Investigators are assessing whether any inside information about that tender may have been used to gain an unfair advantage, in possible breach of EU procurement and professional secrecy rules.
The College of Europe, founded in 1949, is widely regarded as a flagship postgraduate school for EU officials and diplomats, with many senior figures in the EU institutions among its alumni. The college is currently headed by Rector Federica Mogherini, the former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who previously led the EEAS. She began a second five-year term in Bruges earlier this year. Reports say she has so far not commented publicly on the raids.
The period under investigation overlaps with the mandate during which the EEAS was led by Josep Borrell, Spain’s former foreign minister, who served as High Representative from 2019 until the end of the previous European Commission.
There is no indication at this stage that Borrell or current EEAS leadership are personally under investigation. The service is now headed by Kaja Kallas, who took office as High Representative and EEAS chief in late 2024.
EPPO and OLAF have both declined to comment on specific suspects or possible charges. Reports stress that there is currently no public evidence that either body has concluded that wrongdoing occurred, and no individual has yet been formally charged. The EEAS and the College of Europe have also not issued detailed statements on the substance of the allegations, citing the ongoing proceedings.
The case adds to a broader pattern of scrutiny of governance, integrity and security around EU institutions. In recent weeks, a separate set of allegations has emerged concerning Hungarian intelligence activities in Brussels. Investigative journalists reported that Hungarian officers, operating under diplomatic cover at the country’s permanent representation between 2015 and 2017, attempted to recruit EU officials, including Commission staff.
Those espionage claims centre on the period when Olivér Várhelyi, now a European Commissioner, served as Hungary’s ambassador to the EU. He has told Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that he was unaware of any such activities. The European Commission has established an internal group to examine the allegations, stating that it treats them as a matter of operational security.
Although legally distinct, the fraud investigation involving the EEAS and the College of Europe and the espionage allegations concerning Hungarian intelligence both feed into a wider debate in Brussels on safeguards against abuse of EU funds, undue influence and security breaches. For now, the focus in Belgium is on the forensic work of EPPO and OLAF. Their findings will determine whether the current probe leads to criminal charges or remains a high-profile reminder of the EU’s efforts to police its own institutions.
European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi Implicated in Hungarian Espionage Allegations
