Sannino resigns amid corruption scandal in the EU
There is a new resonance in European institutions. A senior official of the European Commission and former Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Stefano Sannino, announced his early retirement after being detained and questioned as part of an investigation into possible fraud within EU structures. This concerns a project implemented during the period when Sannino headed the diplomatic service. This was reported by Euractiv, and relayed by The Public.
In an internal letter to staff, published by Euractiv, Sannino confirmed his status as a suspect but stated that "he trusts the work of magistrates" and is confident in establishing the truth. Despite being released from custody, he decided to resign at the end of December, explaining this as necessary to ensure the safety of the Directorate-General's work and not to block the implementation of his program.
His duties were temporarily taken over by Deputy Michael Karnicznik. This is the first resignation of such a level after Belgian authorities expanded the investigation, conducting searches at the European External Action Service and the College of Europe. Previously, in the same case, former EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and another official were detained and released from custody.
The investigation is ongoing and has already received an unofficial nickname in Brussels — "EEAS-gate," threatening to turn into the biggest corruption scandal of the EU diplomatic service in recent years.
