【By Chen Sijia, Observer News】On December 2 local time, Belgian police raided the EU External Action Service and the European College, detaining three people including Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The European Public Prosecutor's Office stated that investigators suspect the tender process for the "EU Diplomatic College" project was unfair, and the suspects are accused of corruption and fraud.

The European edition of Politico reported on December 3 that if the charges are confirmed, this would be the biggest scandal in the EU since 1999, plunging President von der Leyen into a full-scale crisis just one year into her second term. EU officials warned that the scandal could have a disastrous impact on the credibility of EU institutions, widely affecting Europeans' views of all EU institutions.

On December 2, Belgian police carried out operations at the request of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, searching the EU External Action Service in Brussels, the European College offices in Bruges, and several private residences. The EU External Action Service is the main body responsible for the EU's external relations, while the European College is a graduate-level academic institution focusing on research on European affairs.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office stated in a statement that the investigation focuses on the "EU Diplomatic College" project. This project aimed to train young EU diplomats and was awarded to the European College through an EU tender between 2021 and 2022. Police are investigating whether the EU External Action Service violated tender regulations by providing information to the European College before the project was approved.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office said investigators "strongly suspect" that the tender process violated EU fair competition rules, with "confidential information related to the ongoing project being leaked to one of the bidders." These actions may involve fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest, and breach of confidentiality obligations. "The investigation is ongoing to determine whether any criminal acts have been committed."

European News TV revealed that the three detained suspects are Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Stefano Sannino, former Secretary-General of the EU External Action Service, and a manager of the European College.

Federica Mogherini, Visual China

Stefano Sannino, EU External Action Service website

Mogherini is an Italian center-left politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy from 2014 to 2019 and became the president of the European College in 2020. Sannino is also an Italian diplomat who served as Secretary-General of the EU External Action Service from 2021 to January 2025 and has been serving as Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf region of the European Commission since February this year.

According to Reuters, the European Public Prosecutor's Office announced on December 3 that the three suspects have been released, but the prosecution has formally charged them with fraud, corruption, conflict of interest, and breach of confidentiality obligations. The European Public Prosecutor's Office stated: "Before a court with jurisdiction in Belgium makes a judgment, all relevant individuals should be presumed innocent."

Reuters reported that Mogherini and Sannino have not yet responded to the allegations.

This incident has already caused doubts about the EU across Europe. Manon Aubry, chair of the Left Party Group in the European Parliament, said: "Our institution's credibility is under threat." Zoltán Kovács, a spokesperson for the Hungarian government, criticized: "The EU constantly teaches others to uphold the rule of law, but its own institutions seem to be acting like a crime drama, rather than a functioning union."

Georgi Piperya, a member of the Conservative and Reform Group in the European Parliament and a Romanian MP, said he is considering launching a new motion to again initiate a vote of no confidence against von der Leyen.

Four EU officials told Politico that this incident could further intensify internal divisions within the EU, worsening the relationship between von der Leyen and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. The European Commission led by von der Leyen and the EU External Action Service led by Kallas have been vying for influence, and EU officials revealed that the relationship between these two institutions has become "very fragile."

One official said: "I know that those who don't like von der Leyen will use this incident to attack her, and they will do everything possible to attack her."

President Ursula von der Leyen, Visual China

At the time of the Belgian police raid on the EU diplomatic institutions, von der Leyen's second term had just completed one year. Politico analyzed that this incident involves two senior EU officials and could escalate into a "full-scale crisis" for the EU.

The EU has long struggled with corruption scandals. For example, in 2022, the European Parliament was exposed to the "Qatargate" scandal, with multiple officials associated with the European Parliament accused of accepting bribes from Qatar.

Von der Leyen herself has been involved in the "PfizerGate" incident. The New York Times revealed that during the negotiations between the EU and the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on the COVID-19 vaccine deal in 2021, von der Leyen had privately communicated with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla via text messages. The New York Times had requested the EU Commission to disclose the communication records between von der Leyen and Bourla, but the request was denied.

The EU Court ruled this May in support of the New York Times' position, stating that the communication records between von der Leyen and Bourla should not be kept confidential from the public.

Christiano Sebastiani, a member of the EU civil service union "Renouveau & Démocratie," stated that if Mogherini and Sannino are proven to have committed fraud, it would have a disastrous impact on the credibility of the relevant EU institutions and widely affect Europeans' views of all EU institutions.

Sebastiani said he has received dozens of messages from EU employees, all expressing concerns about the further damage to the EU's reputation.

"This is not good for any of the EU institutions or departments of the European Commission, nor for Europe itself. It will force us to divert our attention from other matters," said an anonymous EU official to Politico. "It will give the impression of elitism, as if there is a large network of connections. Moreover, Mogherini was one of the most successful EU high representatives, which is also bad for public diplomacy."

This article is exclusive to Observer News and may not be reprinted without permission.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7579589640806548004/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.