An investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, three arrests and a cascade of political statements to shake responsibilities. They are the elements that frame the latest corruption scandal to haunt European institutions.
The arrest of Federica Mogherini, former high representative of European diplomacy between 2014 and 2019, for alleged fraud with community funds, is shocking in Brussels. Not only because of the political and social impact, but also because being one of the champions of the strongest Europeanism.
In fact, the Italian was, until now, the rector of the prestigious College of Europe, the postgraduate school dedicated to the training of many future officials, diplomats and analysts in European affairs.
According to the facts investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which has had the support of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in its investigations, Mogherini could have committed fraud in public procurement, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy.
Some events that also affect the diplomat Stefano Sannino, former secretary general of the European External Action Service (EEAS) during the Borrell era and current director general of the European Commission, already a director of the College of Europe.
The most iconic example is the creation of the new ethical body that unifies the standards of conduct in institutions.
The case focuses specifically on the European Union Diplomatic Academy project, a nine-month training program for junior diplomats from all Member States, which was awarded by the EEAS to the Belgian headquarters of the College of Europe following a tender procedure.
The Prosecutor’s Office seeks to clarify whether the College of Europe, or any of its representatives, “were informed in advance, before the official publication, about the selection criteria of the procedure”, which would have favored his candidacy and would represent a flagrant violation of article 169 of the EU Financial Regulation, relating to fair competition and the appropriate use and allocation of European funds.
Paradoxically, this episode explodes three years after the famous ‘Qatargate’, uncovered on December 9, 2022, one of the biggest cases of corruption that has shaken the European Parliament, and which unleashed a political earthquake with the announcement of a broad battery of reforms aimed at exhaustively reviewing the codes of conduct and strengthening community surveillance mechanisms.
The reality is that, three years later, many of these reforms have disappeared, have been diluted or are pending implementation. The most iconic example is the creation of the new ethical body that unifies the standards of conduct in the institutions.
Despite its approval in April 2024, ratification by some of the eight European institutions adhering to the initiative is still pending, which reveals the difficulties of establishing common standards of transparency and accountability.
Corruption scandals cannot become systemic and the focus of community institutions
Added to this are another series of chapters that weaken the “isolated incident” argument and that contribute to slowly, but inexorably, undermining the institutional quality and community credibility.
For example, in March of this same year, the Belgian police searched the Brussels offices of the Chinese technology giant Huawei and arrested several of its lobbyists, in the context of an alleged case of active corruption in the European Parliament, and in November the indictment of the former European Commissioner for Justice, the Belgian Didier Reynders, for alleged money laundering was announced.
Of course, all of these are the most notorious and visible cases. However, we could well lavish ourselves on others that have been created and suffered since the silence of media invisibility or the anonymous suffering and frustration of its protagonists.
For example, cases of harassment by certain MEPs from any political spectrum to some of their assistants (the so-called APAs). Many of whom, either due to power imbalances or economic vulnerability due to fear of losing their jobs, do not dare to report and are forced to normalize certain practices.
Likewise, a more subtle form of “corruption” would be how access to the institutions themselves is managed, especially for non-civil servants. Although the EU boasts of rewarding talent, merit and equal opportunities in its selection processes, the truth is that Transparency is conspicuous by its absence and internal procedures are somewhat perverse.
For example, attending certain tests and exams requires a prior invitation from unit heads, directors or general directors, which means that opportunities, in many cases, really depend more on how strong the network of contacts is than on how valid one or another profile is, which fuels favoritism and a system of clientelism.
This whole situation invites us to ask ourselves, always with a constructive spirit and from the European spirit of the person who writes these lines, how corrupt the European Union is, as well as the importance of constantly rethinking itself as a project.
According to one of the latest Eurobarometers52% of Europeans trust the EU, which is the highest result since 2007. However, the most relevant thing is that many citizens (seven out of ten) demand that he act more forcefully in defense of democratic quality.
And trust is one of those valuable intangibles that takes a lot of effort to achieve and that should never be taken for granted, as it can fade very easily.
For that reason, corruption scandals cannot become systemic and the approach of community institutions, which present themselves as guarantors of the rule of law vis-à-vis national governments, cannot be merely reactive or limited to an embarrassing flood of exculpatory statements.
In the middle of the race for relaunch European competitiveness after years of regulatory fever, These types of situations undermine legitimacy and stifle the purpose, since there is no practice that is less competitive, disincentivizing, and that threatens legal security more than that of corruption.
Furthermore, the “Mogherini case” occurs in a particularly delicate geopolitical context, which makes it even more unfortunate. The peace process in Ukraine has revealed the limited margin of influence of the 27 in the negotiations, ignored and humiliated by Trump and Putin in equal measure, with the consequent perception of weakness.
Likewise, we are witnessing the rise of the extreme right and Eurosceptic movements across the continent. The constant calls to defend democracy against the regression of rights and freedoms raised by figures like Trump, Miley, Netanyahu, Orbán, Le Pen, Abascal…if we do not act with maximum exemplarity from within.
It is the perfect fuel for Orbán to activate the flare of populism and brand the EU as a “mafia”, while Putin washes his hands and Trump insists on the uselessness of the project. As in Tim Burton’s film, it is the nightmare before Christmas.
*** Alberto Cuena is a journalist specialized in economic affairs and the European Union.