EU senior officials accused of corruption
Just last week the former EU policy chief, Ms. Federica Mogherini, who was the rector of the College of Europe, was detained by the Belgian EU prosecuting agency, which issued formal charges against Ms. Mogherini and two other individuals, including ex-European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino, who had been a senior official at the College. The charges included procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy, all during the time that the individuals were senior officials within the College of Europe. Euractiv reported on this noting that the “Belgian police arrested the EU’s former top diplomat Federica Mogherini and senior Commission official Stefano Sannino as part a sweeping fraud investigation that is renewing fears about corruption in the highest ranks of the European bureaucracy.” This has led Ms. Mogherini to step down as rector, and Mr. Sannino stepped down from his present position at Director General for MENA. In the midst of these accusations, the EU Commission officials have distanced themselves from the allegations, noting that this is not a Commission problem but a diplomatic problem and even though Mr. Sannino was a part of the Commission earlier, the probe dates back to his previous role.
Why do we care and what should be done? Unfortunately, this case makes us question what is going on in Brussels. There is an element of “do as I say, not as I do”, which may be part of a pattern, as there have been some earlier cases, Qatargate, in 2022 and Huawei, which occurred earlier this year. If these allegations are adjudicated and the officials are found to be guilty, this is certainly concerning, as the alleged corruption would seem to be at the highest levels, which was not the situation in previous cases. What needs to occur is a review of the circumstances which seems to have led to these cases, and what systems need to be put in place to limit the possibility of such corrupt actions. What remains to be done, is a very active wait and see, and to keep on publicizing the work of the Belgian authorities.
Links:
https://www.politico.eu/article/ursula-von-der-leyen-scandal-diplomatic-fraud-belgian-authorities/