<h6><strong>Ane Barcos</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) confirmed on Tuesday that it is carrying out searches at the College of Europe in Bruges and the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, as part of an investigation into alleged fraud related to EU-funded training for young diplomats.</strong></h4> According to the EPPO, the investigation is focused on a project of the Diplomatic Academy of the European Union, a nine-month training program for young diplomats from EU member states. This project was awarded to the College of Europe in Belgium following a tendering process. The EPPO is investigating whether the College of Europe and/or its representatives were informed in advance about the selection criteria in the tendering process, and whether they had "sufficient grounds to believe that they would be awarded the project before the official publication of the tender notice." The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) indicated that there are "suspicions" that Article 169 of the EU Financial Regulation, concerning fair competition, was violated during the tendering process, and that "confidential information related to the ongoing procurement was shared with one of the participating candidates." The EPPO also noted that the investigated events could be related to public procurement fraud, corruption, conflict of interest, and breach of professional secrecy. It further stated that the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is supporting the investigation. Prior to the searches, the EPPO requested the lifting of immunity for several suspects, which was granted. "The investigation continues with the aim of clarifying the facts and determining whether crimes have been committed," the EPPO stated, emphasizing that the innocence of those involved is presumed until proven guilty by a competent court. For its part, the European Commission confirmed the searches at the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the College of Europe, although it did not provide further details. During the European Commission's daily press briefing, the Commission's spokespersons explained that, because it is an ongoing investigation, they could not provide further details or confirm whether there had been any arrests or the involvement of specific officials. They added that additional information would be provided as possible and consistent with the progress of the investigation. However, Belgian media reported that Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and former Vice-President of the European Commission (2014-2019), is in police custody. According to L’Echo, three people, including Mogherini, are being held.
