Photograph: Kurt Desplenter/AFP via Getty ImagesThree people have been arrested and the offices of an EU agency searched in an investigation into the awarding of a publicly-funded contract to run training courses for junior diplomats. The fraud inquiry is focused on the so-called “European diplomacy academy” which was set up in recent years. The inquiry is being led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, an agency that investigates suspected fraud involving EU funds. The European diplomatic academy started out with an annual budget of close to €1 million. A spokeswoman for the EEAS confirmed police searches took place at the offices of the EU’s diplomatic corps.
