Mogherini was arrested by police in Belgium on Tuesday, but was later released. Along with two other former high-ranking diplomats, she is accused of fraud and corruption, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) announced .
The 52-year-old top diplomat was the EU's foreign policy chief and one of the EU's highest-ranking politicians until 2019. The following year, she was appointed rector of the diplomatic university College of Europe – where she is accused of abusing her position and rigging procurements to the school's advantage.
Dawn raids
Dawn raids have been carried out both on the university campus in Bruges, Belgium, and on the premises of the EU External Action Service in Brussels.
The College of Europe is a prestigious institution that trains aspiring top diplomats with funding from the EU. Many of its students go on to work in the EU's foreign service.
Left-wing politician Federica Mogherini was the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy between 2014 and 2019, and as such was the Union's public face on foreign and security policy issues – in other words, the common foreign minister of the member states. As such, she was also Vice-President of the former European Commission.
“Credibility at stake”
Another of the three arrested is Italian Stefano Sannino, who was the Secretary General and highest-ranking official of the EEAS from 2021 until earlier this year. He currently leads the European Commission's work on the Middle East and North Africa.
Opposition voices on both the right and left flanks of the European Parliament say they see reasons to once again try to remove Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The credibility of our institutions is at stake, says Frenchman Manon Aubry, who co-leads the Left in parliament.
The third person accused is the head of the College of Europe.
