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Brussels was rocked today by a scandal that led to the arrest of Federica Mogherini, former EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, as well as two other EU officials, following checks carried out by Belgian police as part of a fraud investigation.
According to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), there are "strong suspicions" that the arrested are involved in violations of competition rules during the award of a contract for the operation of the European Diplomatic Training Academy.
In addition to Federica Mogherini, former Italian EU diplomat Stefano Sannino, as well as the co-director of the Executive Training Office at the College of Europe, Cesare Jegretti, were also arrested.
International media write that the checks, which were carried out at the request of the EPPO, were carried out by Belgian police at the offices of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, at the buildings of the College of Europe in Bruges and at private residences, the EPPO reports.
The EEAS is the EU's foreign policy department.
Until 2019, it was headed by former European Commission Vice-President Federica Mogherini. In 2020, she took up the post of Rector of the College of Europe, an educational institution for future EU officials.
Stefano Sannino, a former Italian diplomat, has been a senior official in the EEAS and is currently the European Commission's Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region.
Cesare Jegretti, the third person arrested, is co-director of the Office of Executive Training and Projects at the College of Europe, Politico reports.
European Commission spokeswoman Anita Hipper confirmed that police carried out searches at the EEAS on Tuesday as part of an "ongoing investigation into activities carried out during the previous mandate", ahead of Ursula von der Leyen's re-election as head of the European Commission in December 2024.
However, Commission officials did not comment on whether any of the commission's staff had been arrested or provide additional details about the investigation.
The EPPO confirmed that it had requested the waiver of the immunity usually granted to diplomats, and the request was granted.
Belgian authorities are investigating the EU's European Diplomacy Academy, a program for young diplomats from EU countries, which operates at the College of Europe.
Mogherini has been the head of the institution since August 2022.
According to the EPPO, there are "strong suspicions" of a violation of competition rules when the EEAS awarded the tender to the College of Europe for the creation of the diplomatic academy.
The investigation focuses on whether the College of Europe was informed of the selection process criteria before official publication.
A senior EU official told Politico that the checks are related to an investigation that began before Kaya Kallas, the current EU foreign policy chief, took office.
According to an anonymous EEAS official, the inspection took place at the EEAS administrative offices in Brussels, at Rue d'Arlon 62, and not at the main building on Schuman Square.
The police asked the employees to vacate the premises and leave their office doors open, as well as their furniture.
Stefano Sannino, former Italian diplomat with a 30-year career
Stefano Sannino has over 30 years of experience in European diplomacy and politics. He has served as Director General of the EEAS and as Italian Ambassador to Spain.
Having studied at the Federico II University of Naples, Sannino entered the Italian diplomatic service in 1986. In 2002, he joined the European Commission as an advisor for external relations and trade in Romano Prodi's team, and later served as Director for Crisis Management and as the Commission's representative in the Political and Security Committee. In 2006 he became Diplomatic Advisor to Prodi as Prime Minister of Italy.
In 2013, he was appointed Permanent Representative of Italy to the EU, and in January 2020, he became Secretary-General of the EEAS, playing a key role in EU foreign policy until 2024. He was subsequently appointed Director for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG MENA).
Sannino is also active in supporting the LGBT+ community. He has openly declared that he is gay and is married to the Catalan Santiago Montragón Vial. In 2016 he received the Transexualia award for his commitment to the integration of trans people in Spain, as well as the LGBT Andalucía award for the fight against homophobia. In 2018 he raised the rainbow flag at the Italian Embassy for Madrid Pride.
Cesare Zegretti, co-director of the “College of Europe”
Cesare Zegretti, with Italian and Belgian citizenship, studied at LUISS in Rome and has been Co-Director of the Office of Executive Training, Education and Projects at the College of Europe since January 2022.
He joined the College of Europe in January 2016 as Project Coordinator and has experience in business development, project design and international programme management. He deals with international cooperation policies, EU public diplomacy and external actions.
One of the projects he oversees is the European Resources for Mediation Support – ERMES, which helps the EU support third parties in mediation and peaceful dialogue processes.
Before joining the College of Europe, Cesare Zegretti worked for two European companies providing services to European and international institutions in the field of security, as well as for an NGO managing human rights campaigns.
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