Former EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini was one of three suspects detained on Tuesday in police searches of the European Union's diplomatic service in Brussels and an elite university in Bruges. 

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) said that its fraud investigation was targeting the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the College of Europe and was related to an EU-funded training course of diplomats. 

It said that suspects' homes were searched as part of the operation, also stressing that all of them were innocent until proven guilty under Belgian law. 

What did the prosecution service say about the investigation?

The EPPO said that its investigation was focused on a "nine-month training program for junior diplomats" and its tender process in 2021 and 2022, which the EU's diplomatic service the EEAS had awarded to the College of Europe. 

"The investigation focuses on whether the College of Europe and/or their representatives were informed in advance about the selection criteria of the tender procedure and had sufficient reason to believe that they would be awarded the implementation of the project, prior to the official production by the EEAS of the tender notice," the EPPO said. 

It said there were "strong suspicions" that a fair competition regulation was breached, and "that confidential information related to the ongoing procurement was shared with one of the candidates participating in the tender." 

The facts under investigation, the EPPO said, could constitute "procurement fraud, corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy." 

Who is Federica Mogherini? 

Federica Mogherini was the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy from 2014 to 2019. 

Prior to her time as the EU's top diplomatic representative, the 52-year-old center-left Italian politician had spent six years in Italy's parliament representing a district in Rome, Lazio I. She undertook various foreign policy-related tasks and roles in Italian politics during and before her time as a lawmaker.

Mogherini had a brief stint as Italy's foreign minister in 2014 before taking up the top foreign policy spot in Brussels later that year. 

In 2020, she was appointed the rector of the College of Europe.

She is also director of the European Union Diplomatic Academy and was in charge of the EEAS during her five years as a European Commissioner.

What is the College of Europe, the EEAS and the EPPO?

The College of Europe is a postgraduate university catered to training diplomats that can trace its roots back to the earliest progenitors of the European Union. 

It was founded in 1949, soon after the end of World War II, to promote "a spirit of solidarity and mutual understanding between all the nations of Western Europe and to provide elite training to individuals who will uphold these values." 

Its main campus is in Bruges in northern Belgium, and it also has newer campuses in Warsaw, Poland and in Tirana, Albania. 

The College of Europe's chairman is another veteran EU politician, former Belgian Prime Minister and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) was established in 2010 to assist the EU's foreign policy commissioner.

It is the diplomatic service in charge of executing EU international relations on behalf of the commissioner. According to its 2024 Annual Activity Report, its budget that year was €880.2 million (roughly $1.02 billion at current exchange rates).

Finally, the EPPO is the EU's independent public prosecution office. It's responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.

Edited by: Kieran Burke