Belgian police have carried out a wide-ranging search operation at the European Union's diplomatic offices in Brussels and at the College of Europe in Bruges as part of an investigation into suspected fraud related to the financing of junior officials. Three senior EU officials, including EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, have been arrested as a result of the raids.
The investigation, which is shaking up European institutions, has focused on suspicions of misuse of funds and possible corruption schemes within administrative structures. Belgian police have seized documents and other evidence necessary to continue with the full investigation of the case.
There has been no shortage of international reactions, with Moscow and Budapest taking advantage of the situation to harshly criticize the European Union.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attacked the EU, accusing it of hypocrisy and tolerating corruption at high levels.
“The EU turns a blind eye to its own corruption, but constantly lectures others,” Zakharova told the Tass news agency. She added that “millions of euros” have been flowing through “corrupt channels” in Kiev to the EU for years, stressing that, in her opinion, “this is clear to everyone.”
A similar stance came from Budapest, where Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs described the situation as another serious blow to Brussels' image.
“Another day, another shocking scandal in the EU. Police raid the EEAS and the College of Europe at dawn? Arrests, documents seized, corruption charges? You wouldn’t even make it up,” Kovacs wrote on the X platform.
He added that EU institutions "resemble more a detective series than a functional union," ironically saying that Brussels continues to lecture other countries about the rule of law, while it itself regularly faces successive scandals.
