Former Rector of the College of Europe Federica Mogherini
Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has resigned from her position as rector of the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) brought charges against her for fraud and corruption, the Brussels-based news portal Euractiv reported on Thursday.
Federica Mogherini announced her resignation in a letter to the staff, students, and alumni of the educational institution after an extraordinary meeting of the College of Europe’s executive committee on Thursday.
On Wednesday morning, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had formally charged three individuals involved in an alleged corruption case concerning the College of Europe and the European External Action Service (EEAS).
“With the utmost rigor and integrity with which I have always performed my duties, I have decided today to resign from my position as rector,” she said.
Statement by Mrs. Federica Mogherini, Rector of the College of Europe.https://t.co/F4MfvAoAEk
— College of Europe (@collegeofeurope) December 3, 2025
In addition to Mogherini, the suspects in the case include a senior staff member of the College of Europe and the Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, who is also the Secretary-General of the EEAS for the period 2021-2025. The latter requested retirement on Wednesday.
The three individuals were taken into custody on Tuesday and then released pending investigation, as, according to the EPPO, there is no risk of them absconding.
Early Tuesday morning, Belgian police conducted simultaneous raids at the main building of the EU’s foreign service in Brussels, at the College of Europe in Bruges, and at private residences.
Documents were seized during the operation, which was led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and supported by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) as part of criminal proceedings.
The EU prosecutor’s office believes that there is “strong suspicion of fraud” in connection with a tender for a nine-month training program for young diplomats in 2021 and 2022. The tender was issued by the EU’s foreign service and won by the college.
“It is not just dysfunctional but a corrupt organization,” Political Director Balázs Orbán told Euractiv. He argued the EEAS should be disbanded and reduced to a technocratic body that coordinates foreign policy positions without political influence.
These are just signs of Brussels leadership failing,”
underlined Balázs Orbán.
Another day, another “shock” EU scandal. Belgian police raiding the EEAS and the College of Europe at dawn? Documents seized, arrests made, corruption and procurement fraud on the table.
The EU’s prestigious “finishing school” for Eurocrats now under investigation for insider…
— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) December 2, 2025
Secretary of State for International Communication Zoltán Kovács reacted to the news before Federica Mogherini’s resignation, writing:
Another day, another “shock” EU scandal,”
he pointed out, continuing: “Belgian police raiding the EEAS and the College of Europe at dawn? Documents seized, arrests made, corruption and procurement fraud on the table. The EU’s prestigious “finishing school” for Eurocrats now under investigation for insider access to tenders? You cannot make this up. Funny how Brussels lectures everyone on “rule of law” while its own institutions look more like a crime series than a functioning union.”
Fact
The former rector of the College of Europe, Federica Mogherini previously headed the EEAS and began her second five-year term at the helm of the educational institution this year. During the period under investigation, the EU’s foreign service was headed by Josep Borrell.
Via MTI, Euractiv; Featured photo: X/College of Europe
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