EU: How significant are the Mogherini investigations?
Federica Mogherini, former EU foreign affairs representative and current head of the College of Europe in Bruges, has been been formally accused of corruption. The European Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating Mogherini, her deputy and EU official Stefano Sannino over alleged secret agreements relating to an EU-funded degree programme at the elite university. Commentators inquire into the causes and consequences.
A whole string of allegations
Spotmedia sees danger ahead for the Union:
“The EU is trying to distance itself from a string of corruption scandals that have come to light this decade. Tuesday's searches follow on the heels of the 2022 'Qatargate' scandal, in which the Gulf state was accused of influencing MEPs through bribery and gifts. ... But even the EU Commission did not emerge unscathed by suspicions. ... [President of the EU Commission] Von der Leyen was censured by the EU Court for failing to release her text message exchange with Pfizer's board of directors during the Covid-19 pandemic. ... But Tuesday's revelations are more dangerous for the Commission because the suspects are very well known and the allegations are serious.”
Kallas, it's over to you!
Der Standard warns of massive damage to the EU's reputation:
“Quite apart from the criminal aspects, the current EU Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas is already facing a challenge: her predecessor was a key political figure in Europe from 2014 to 2019. So, whatever happened must be laid out on the table, no holds barred. This is not a matter for the police, but it will require a willingness to be fully transparent. The European Parliament can exert pressure and set up an investigative committee. If this doesn't happen, the damage to its reputation will only get worse. Corruption at the highest level? Europe can't afford that - not in Brussels, not in Kyiv. So, Kallas, it's over to you!”
Nepotism: part and parcel of the EU
The web portal In cannot hold back the sarcasm:
“EU funds are there to be wasted. And indeed, they are only one aspect of the internal disharmony within the European construct: from a outsider perspective, the EU looks like a container for billions of euros which are invested in lobbying largely unelected representatives, who can promote their respective interests while enjoying privileges that do not correspond to any political office in national governments. ... That's why you get institutions like the College of Europe, in which various 'former members' of Europe's bureaucracy, such as Mogherini, have found a new home.”
The system is working
Politis sees the positive aspects of the Mogherini case:
“This development certainly throws up justifiable questions about the behaviour of high-ranking bureaucrats, but it is not a setback for the European Union. On the contrary, it proves that the system is working. The European Public Prosecutor's Office, an institution established in 2021, is a real game changer for the EU's institutional functioning. Now at last there is an independent mechanism which investigates fraud and irregularities detrimental to the Union's financial interests, without shying away from targeting individuals with a powerful political past. The summons of Mogherini and two other individuals shows that no one is above the law.”
Distracted by international challenges
The corruption scandal comes at a bad time for the EU, Club Z declares:
“This is happening just as Ukraine's position has also been weakened following the dismissal of Andriy Yermak, President Zelensky's former chief of staff - also due to corruption allegations. At the same time, the Mogherini-Sannino case is diverting the EU's attention towards internal problems and away from international challenges. This is also threatening to create tensions between Brussels and national capitals, just as the Commission is trying to convince them to approve a controversial 140-billion-euro reparations loan for Ukraine by freeing up Russian assets that are frozen in the EU.”