Two former European Union envoys for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Federica Mogherini and Miroslav Lajcak, have been involved in two separate scandals, which have attracted the attention of international media.
Federica Mogherini, former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (2014–2019), was arrested in December 2025 during a police raid as part of an investigation into an alleged fraud scheme related to the training of European diplomats.
Mogherini, currently head of the postgraduate college “College of Europe”, was arrested in Brussels along with the deputy head of the training school and Stefano Sannino, former secretary-general of the European Union Diplomatic Service (EEAS) from 2021 to 2024.
The raid included not only the college premises, but also the offices of the EEAS diplomatic service, fueling speculation about the involvement of senior European officials in a suspected financial scheme related to funds for diplomatic training.
During her mandate as High Representative, Mogherini mediated the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, a process considered key to regional stability and the Euro-Atlantic advancement of the Western Balkans.
Her appointment to this post placed her at the center of international politics, while her subsequent arrest casts a shadow over the reputation of senior figures in European diplomacy.
Meanwhile, the other former EU envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, completed his four-year mandate as special envoy for the dialogue at the end of August 2025.
After leaving office, he was appointed national security advisor to the Prime Minister of Slovakia, but was forced to resign after the publication of documents from the US that revealed his exchanges of messages about girls and diplomacy with Jeffrey Epstein, a person known for his criminal activities and international scandals.
Lajcak has publicly acknowledged that the messages show poor judgment and inappropriate communication, describing them as “stupid male ego.”
He added that he does not consider them a criminal act, but a lack of ethical and professional judgment. Lajcak explained that in 2017 he arrived in New York for a year-long post at the United Nations and was introduced to Epstein by a foreign diplomat, emphasizing that the meeting was part of establishing diplomatic contacts, a common element in his career.
Regarding Lajcak’s involvement in the Epstein scandal, the European Union has reacted by emphasizing that this does not compromise the process of normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which he mediated for five years.
European officials insisted that Lajcak’s connections had no impact on the dialogue.
“When it comes to the dialogue as such, it remains unaffected by such developments. The dialogue is a sustainable process since 2011, which is owned by the parties and led by the High Representative. The dialogue is also continuously monitored by member states,” said Anitta Hipper, EU spokesperson.
As investigations into Mogherini and her associates continue in Belgium, and Lajcak’s influence in the Epstein scandal has become the subject of international criticism, these cases reflect the challenges related to the transparency and accountability of European diplomacy.
In addition to Mogetini and Lajçak, the former Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, known for his harsh statements against Kosovo, has also recently been included in the published documents related to the financier convicted of sex crimes, Jeffrey Epstein.
In 2004, Jagland declared that the mafia had taken control of a large part of Kosovo’s government, saying that “Kosovo produces little other than crime.”
“When it is known that Afghanistan produces 75 percent of the world’s opium and that most of it passes through Kosovo, there are serious reasons to sound the alarm,” he added.
In 2010, Jagland had requested a deeper investigation into allegations that the then Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, was involved, among other things, in illegal organ trafficking.
Relying on the report prepared by Dick Marty, he stated that these accusations could not remain unanswered.
“I have read the allegations of inhumane treatment of people and illegal trafficking of human organs in Kosovo. The report contains many serious allegations and I fear the consequences it may bring,” Jagland said.
Meanwhile, Jagland’s name has been mentioned in documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, where a published email exchange reveals that he and his family had plans for a trip to Epstein’s private island, near the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea, six years after Epstein was convicted of attempting to purchase sexual services from minors./Telegraph.