Federica Mogherini is an Italian diplomat who served as the European Union's foreign-policy chief from 2014 to 2019, heading the European External Action Service (EEAS). After leaving that post she was parachuted in to head the College of Europe in Bruges, known as a finishing school for aspiring Eurocrats. She also leads a diplomatic training academy for junior diplomats, which was established after the EEAS proposed the programme in 2021.
In December 2025 Mogherini was detained by Belgian police and formally designated a suspect in a corruption investigation. Prosecutors allege that a public tender, organised by her former EEAS colleagues, for universities to host the diplomatic school was designed so that only the College of Europe could plausibly land the contract. A second suspect, Stefano Sannino, one of the European Commission's most senior officials, was also detained. The allegedly dodgy tender involved less than €1m, and there are no charges of personal enrichment beyond a cushy salary. All suspects are presumed innocent and none have said much publicly.
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