Belgian police detain Kallas's predecessor during raid

Belgian police raided the EU diplomatic service in Brussels and the College of Europe Institute in Bruges on Tuesday in connection with a fraud investigation.

Among those arrested is the Rector of the College and former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Italian Federica Mogherini.

The raid has already been reported in the world media, but the arrest of the former EU chief diplomat was revealed to AFP by an anonymous police source. According to a statement from the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), the raids were part of a fraud investigation into the EU-funded training of young diplomats.

The European External Action Service has also been the target of raids, which have been ongoing since the early hours of the morning. It is also a prominent beneficiary of graduates of the College. Neither institution has commented on the incident.

Prosecutors explained that they had "strong suspicions" of fraud in a competition that resulted in the awarding of a nine-month training programme for aspiring diplomats in member states between 2021 and 2022. The competition was organised by the EEAS and won by the institute.

Mogherini headed the EU's foreign service from 2014 to 2019. During the period the investigators are focusing on, she was rector of the College of Europe and the diplomatic service was headed by her successor Josep Borrell.

Citing four unnamed sources, Euractiv reported that the investigation is focusing on the circumstances surrounding the purchase of a €3.2 million building on Spanjaardstraat in Bruges, which houses diplomats attending the college.

The building was bought by the College of Europe during a period of financial difficulties in 2022 and shortly before the service launched a tender in which the university was later awarded €654 thousand in funding, two sources told the portal. The tender required those interested in hosting the academy to provide accommodation to its applicants.

(reuters, afp, euractiv, sab)