Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has been released from custody in Belgium after being questioned in an investigation into alleged fraud and corruption linked to an EU-funded training programme for junior diplomats.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) confirmed on Wednesday that Mogherini, now rector of the College of Europe in Bruges, a senior College staff member and a senior European Commission official had been detained on Tuesday and formally notified of accusations against them. The accusations concern alleged procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy. All three were released after questioning as they are not considered flight risks.
Media have identified the two other figures as Stefano Sannino, former secretary general of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and currently director-general for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf at the European Commission, and Cesare Zegretti, an Italian-Belgian national and senior manager at the College of Europe.
The case centres on the establishment of the European Union Diplomatic Academy, a nine-month training programme for junior diplomats from EU member states. The project was awarded by the EEAS to the College of Europe following a public tender procedure covering the period 2021–22.
According to EPPO statements, investigators are examining whether the College of Europe and/or its representatives were informed in advance about the selection criteria for the tender and whether they had reason to believe the College would be awarded the contract before the tender notice was officially published. There are “strong suspicions” that rules on fair competition set out in Article 169 of the EU Financial Regulation may have been breached and that confidential information related to the procurement procedure was shared with one of the candidates.
The inquiry led to coordinated searches on Tuesday at several College of Europe buildings in Bruges, at the EEAS headquarters in Brussels and at the private homes of suspects. The operation was carried out by the Belgian Federal Judicial Police at EPPO’s request, with support from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and under the authority of an investigating judge in West Flanders.
EPPO said on Wednesday that, following questioning, the three individuals “were formally notified of the accusations against them” and then released. Under Belgian procedure, such notification means suspects are officially informed of the alleged offences under investigation, but it does not amount to a conviction. EPPO added that no further details would be made public at this stage in order not to endanger the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
Mogherini served as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and head of the EEAS between 2014 and 2019, after a brief tenure as Italy’s foreign minister earlier in 2014. She took up the post of rector of the College of Europe in 2020 and has been closely associated with the Diplomatic Academy project based at the College’s Bruges campus.
Sannino served as secretary general of the EEAS from 2021 until early 2025, before moving to his current role in the European Commission. Zegretti has been co-director of the College’s Executive Education, Training and Projects Office since 2022, according to Italian reports.
The value of the contract under scrutiny has been reported at about €650,000, covering the costs of the Diplomatic Academy’s pilot training scheme. The programme, launched in 2022, was intended to provide a common training platform for junior diplomats from across the EU and its institutions.
The facts under investigation were first reported to OLAF, which then supported EPPO’s criminal probe. Before Tuesday’s searches, EPPO requested – and obtained – the lifting of immunity for several suspects, a step required when EU officials enjoy legal protections in the exercise of their functions.
The investigation touches both an EU institution and one of Europe’s most prominent postgraduate colleges. The College of Europe, founded in 1949, has for decades trained officials and specialists for roles in EU institutions and national administrations. The EEAS, created under the Lisbon Treaty, acts as the EU’s diplomatic service and manages the bloc’s foreign policy apparatus.
The European Commission has confirmed that searches took place at EEAS premises in Brussels and has said only that the matter concerns activities from a previous mandate, while declining to comment on the substance of the allegations. The College of Europe has publicly pledged full cooperation with the authorities and has reiterated its stated commitment to compliance with EU rules.
EPPO has stressed in both of its public statements that all those concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the competent Belgian courts. No court date has yet been announced, and the investigation remains ongoing.
