Euractive: Belgian police raid EU diplomatic service over fund misuse

Belgian police raided the European Union’s diplomatic service in Brussels on December 2, alongside the College of Europe in Bruges and several private residences, as part of an investigation into alleged misuse of EU funds.

The raids, which occurred across Belgium in the early hours, involved police seizing documents and detaining three individuals for questioning on suspicions of procurement fraud, corruption, and criminal conflict of interest, Euractive reports, citing sources familiar with the probe.

According to the eyewitnesses, around 10 plainclothes officers entered the European External Action Service (EEAS) headquarters at 7:30 a.m. An EU official confirmed the raid.

This operation marks the latest scandal affecting EU institutions and raises scrutiny on the College of Europe and its rector, Federica Mogherini, who previously led the EEAS and recently began her second five-year term in Bruges.

Mogherini, a former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, did not immediately respond to inquiries from Euractiv.

Investigators are examining whether the College of Europe or its representatives had prior knowledge of a public tender intended to fund the new EU Diplomatic Academy, an annual program for European diplomats in Bruges financed by the EEAS.

Focus has also been on the college’s €3.2 million acquisition of a building on Spanjaardstraat in Bruges, which houses academy participants.

The purchase was made in 2022 during financial strain, shortly before the EEAS issued a tender that later provided the institution with €654,000 in funding, according to sources familiar with the case.

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) had previously interviewed several individuals before forwarding its findings to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which is responsible for investigating and prosecuting serious crimes affecting EU interests.

Both the College of Europe and the EU Diplomatic Academy are led by Mogherini, who served as Italy’s foreign minister and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2019. She became rector of the College in 2020 and director of the academy at its 2022 launch.

During the period under investigation, the EEAS was headed by former Spanish foreign minister Josep Borrell, whose office was not immediately available for comment.

By Jeyhun Aghazada