Federica Mogherini, the former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, was arrested less than ten days ago in her capacity as Rector of the College of Europe on suspicion of fraud and corruption connected to the training of junior diplomats funded by the European Union.
According to a Radar source, Serbian authorities have been informally notified that the investigation includes a review of the College of Europe’s entire operations, including the Memorandum on scholarships for Serbian postgraduate students, signed two years ago by Mogherini and Vladimir Lučić, Director of Telekom Serbia. However, the Serbian national telecom company denies this in its response to Radar, threatens legal action “individually and collectively”, and states that “the College of Europe is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the EU”.
Mogherini’s arrest has reverberated across Europe. Alongside her, during a large police operation in Bruges, the manager of the College of Europe – whose identity has not been made public – was detained, as well as Stefano Sanino, a senior official of the European Commission. According to media reports, it is suspected that the College of Europe had privileged access to confidential information during the tender for launching the new European Diplomatic Academy, a nine-month training programme for European diplomats funded by the EU, specifically the European External Action Service (EEAS), where Sanino served as Secretary-General.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office suspects that the College’s leadership had prior knowledge of the tender’s criteria and conditions, which would have given the institution an unfair advantage over other interested applicants.
Unfortunate timing for deepening cooperation
And it was precisely with the College of Europe, whose rector until the arrest was Federica Mogherini, that Serbian Telekom concluded a Memorandum agreeing to send “the best Serbian postgraduates” for training at the College’s campuses in Bruges and Tirana. Mogherini and Telekom Director Vladimir Lučić signed the document in 2023, and only a few months before the former EU High Representative’s arrest, the cooperation was further expanded, including an agreement for as many as ten new scholarships for postgraduate students from Serbia.
A Radar source states that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is examining all contracts concluded by the College of Europe, including the Memorandum signed with the Serbian telecommunications company. According to our interlocutor, Serbian authorities were informally informed of this. “They are investigating absolutely everything,” the source told Radar.
Telekom Serbia, however, denies this information. “Your information is incorrect. We emphasise that we will address any false reporting on this matter in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia, before the court, individually and collectively,” the company said in a brief written response to Radar’s request for comment on our unofficial findings.
Despite the major scandal and serious allegations of fraud and corruption, Telekom’s response to our magazine states that the College of Europe is one of “the most prestigious educational institutions within the European Union”, and that the company “will continue cooperation in the same manner as before”.
“Three students from Serbia have either completed or will complete their postgraduate studies at this institution thanks to Telekom Serbia’s scholarship, and they will assist in the process of Serbia becoming a member of the European Union as soon as possible. The scholarship agreement between Telekom Serbia and the College of Europe enables scholarships for the best graduates from Serbia who are selected by the College itself and by the European Movement in Serbia,” Telekom Serbia’s reply states.
Mogherini visited Telekom’s Brussels office in January
We asked the European Public Prosecutor’s Office whether Telekom or anyone else from Serbia was involved in the investigation it is conducting against Federica Mogherini in the College of Europe case, but we were referred only to official statements.
“As the investigation is ongoing, we will not be providing any further information for now, so as not to jeopardise its outcome,” the European Public Prosecutor’s Office told Radar.
When cooperation between Telekom and the College of Europe was further expanded in January 2025 during a meeting in Brussels, Federica Mogherini visited Telekom’s EU office, where she met with Director Vladimir Lučić. On that occasion, they reached an agreement that Telekom would, in the next academic year, fund up to ten of the best Serbian students wishing to enrol in postgraduate studies at the College of Europe.
Lučić then stated that the College of Europe was “one of the most prestigious institutions in Europe” and invited young people from Serbia to apply. He emphasised that during their year-long stay in European institutions, the scholarship holders would gain experience that would be invaluable for Serbia’s further European integration.
“Colleagues from the College will be future holders of posts in administrations across the European Union, from Brussels to the capitals of the member states,” Lučić said, highlighting that it was an exceptional opportunity for Serbian students to be part of such a network.
For her part, Mogherini expressed satisfaction with the partnership with Telekom, describing the scholarship programme as “key to involving candidate countries in European processes”.
Visit to Belgrade and meetings with Vučić and Lučić
Federica Mogherini last visited Serbia in November 2024, during a two-day trip in which, as reported by the Nova portal, she promoted the College of Europe’s educational programmes and took part in a series of political and public events. On the first day, she addressed students, the academic community, and young professionals at an event in the European House, where she stressed that she wanted as many Serbian students as possible to choose the College’s new campus in Tirana. She noted that no one from Serbia had applied that year, expressing hope that this would change.
That same day she also took part in the Belgrade Security Conference, where she said that “those celebrating Trump’s victory will very soon realise that things will not be easy for them”, commenting on political developments in the United States and Europe. The following day she met with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, with whom she discussed educational cooperation, Serbia’s European path, the geopolitical situation in the region, and reforms in the field of education. Vladimir Lučić was also present at the meeting as a partner of the College of Europe.
The amount of the scholarships for further training at the College of Europe has not been made public. We did not find this information in the financial reports either. However, Telekom has long “recognised” the importance of the European market for its business, as well as the significance of European Union funding.
Thus, in 2023, it was announced that the Serbian telecommunications company had opened its office in Brussels. It was stated at the time that this followed “the example of major European telecommunications operators, which also have their offices in the capital of the European Union”. It was also noted that this was important because it “increases the possibility of accessing funds, primarily for the development of digital services and 5G infrastructure”.
An office or a lobbying hub in Brussels
The news that Telekom would open its Brussels office appeared in Serbian media six months earlier, but with an emphasis on lobbying. Nevertheless, it did not have much success, as in the 2023 European Parliament report, Telekom was identified as a company suspected of abusing its dominant market position, as well as being used by the ruling party to increase its influence over the media in Serbia.
It is also noteworthy that Vladimir Bilčik, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Serbia, met at that time – amid the debate on amendments – with representatives of Telekom and its partner, Adria Media Group, and allegedly attempted, according to media reports, to influence changes to the text. However, he did not succeed, even after four rounds of consultations with his colleagues in the European Parliament.
Telekom Serbia is one of the most heavily indebted companies in Serbia, and by the end of last year, its debt had exceeded three billion euros. Despite this, in September it purchased five smaller local operators, and there is speculation that it will also become the owner of Orion Telekom, for which it is expected to allocate 100 million euros.
It has also been confirmed that Telekom has received approval from the Commission for the Protection of Competition to acquire the company Mondo Inc, the publisher of Kurir. Previously, Telekom had also received the “green light” to take over Mondo, currently owned by businessman Igor Žeželj, from the antitrust authorities of North Macedonia and Montenegro. It is not known how much this Telekom venture will end up costing us.
(Radar, 12.12.2025)
https://radar.nova.rs/ekonomija/bliske-veze-telekoma-i-federike-mogerini/