Three people were arrested on Tuesday. They are connected to a fraud investigation. The investigation is about a training contract worth millions of euros. One of the people is a former top EU foreign policy chief. Police searched offices in Brussels and a college in Bruges at the same time. All three people were released on Wednesday.
The case is about a big contract. The contract was for a special school to train new EU diplomats. The school is called the EU Diplomatic Academy. The contract went to the College of Europe. Investigators are looking at how the contract was given in 2021 and 2022. They want to know if the process was fair or if there was corruption.
One of the people arrested is Federica Mogherini. She was the EU's foreign policy chief until 2019. Now she is the head of the College of Europe and the EU Diplomatic Academy. Another person is a senior official from the EU's foreign service. A third official from the college was also arrested.
The investigation is a big problem for the EU. It makes people ask questions about trust and rules inside the EU's important institutions.