The detention of former top EU officials in Brussels has exposed one of the most serious corruption scandals in recent European history. The investigation into the EU Diplomatic Academy project is no longer just about alleged fraud—it has become a test of whether European institutions are capable of policing themselves at the highest levels of power.
On December 2, 2025, the Belgian Federal Judicial Police detained Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Alongside her, investigators detained Stefano Sannino, former Secretary-General of the European External Action Service, and Cesare Zegretti, a senior manager at the College of Europe.
The detentions, though brief, marked an unprecedented moment: two figures once considered politically untouchable were formally questioned in a criminal case led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation centres on alleged financial fraud, corruption in procurement, conflict of interest, and violations of professional secrecy involving EU-funded programmes.
Within hours of their release, police searched multiple locations, including the College of Europe in Bruges and the EEAS headquarters in Brussels. Two days later, Mogherini resigned as rector of the College of Europe.
At the core of the case lies the European Diplomatic Academy, a nine-month training program for young diplomats from EU member states. In 2021–2022, the EEAS awarded the program—worth €654,000—to the College of Europe following a competitive tender.
Investigators are now examining whether that competition was genuinely fair.
According to reporting by Euractiv, prosecutors suspect that the College of Europe—or individuals linked to it—may have had advance knowledge of the tender’s selection criteria. Such foreknowledge would have given the institution a decisive and illegal advantage over potential competitors.
One transaction has become central to the case: the College of Europe’s purchase of a building on Spanjaardstraat in Bruges for €3.2 million. The building was acquired before the tender was officially announced and later became the main training facility and dormitory for the EU Diplomatic Academy.
Investigators are questioning why an institution facing financial strain would make such a purchase unless it was confident EU funding was imminent. The proximity in timing between the acquisition and the tender announcement has fuelled suspicions of privileged access to confidential information inside the EEAS—then overseen administratively by Sannino and politically by Mogherini.
The scandal did not emerge in a vacuum. Mogherini’s 2020 appointment as rector of the College of Europe had already triggered widespread criticism. According to Politico Europe, staff, alumni, and EU officials questioned both the lack of competition and Mogherini’s academic qualifications.
The college’s administrative board, chaired by Herman Van Rompuy, approved her candidacy despite objections. Fifteen Green MEPs later wrote to Ursula von der Leyen, warning that the appointment undermined equal opportunities and institutional independence.
The original vacancy notice required proven academic leadership, budgetary management experience, and significant scholarly merit—criteria critics argued Mogherini did not meet.
The case has also revived debate about informal national networks inside EU institutions. Sannino, a seasoned Italian diplomat, survived multiple political transitions and held key posts across Brussels and Rome.
Even after his dismissal as EEAS Secretary-General in late 2024 by new foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, he resurfaced months later as Director-General for the Middle East and North Africa.
Simultaneously, he taught at the College of Europe—run by his former boss Mogherini—creating what critics now describe as a closed ecosystem of power, influence, and mutual protection.
The Mogherini-Sannino scandal joins a growing list of EU-level scandals:
Taken together, these cases suggest not isolated misconduct but structural vulnerabilities in how EU power, money, and post-office careers intersect.
All suspects in the current case are presumed innocent, and prosecutors have stated there was no immediate flight risk. Yet the long-term implications are unavoidable.
The investigation will test whether the EU can enforce accountability when allegations reach the highest levels. It will also force a re-examination of how former officials transition into EU-funded roles—and whether existing safeguards against conflicts of interest are merely cosmetic.
Whatever the legal outcome, the political damage is already done. Trust in EU governance depends not on the absence of corruption, but on the certainty that no one is beyond scrutiny. In that sense, this case may become a defining moment for Europe’s institutional credibility.
The question now is not whether corruption exists in Europe, but whether Europe is prepared and ready to confront it without fear or favour.
By portraying Vladimir Putin as the only actor able to “ensure security” and “restore legitimacy”…
Freedom of speech in Lithuania has become the centre of an unprecedented civic mobilisation, as…
The question sounds almost abstract at first, like a numbers game. But it is not.…
European outlets synchronized a three-stage disinformation campaign that turned Russia's military defeat in Kupiansk into…
Across Europe, Russia’s information strategy has evolved from centralized messaging to local translation—re-tailored for national…
Pro-Kremlin networks across Europe weaponize democratic debates to fabricate EU and NATO collapse narratives, transforming…