Hungary may spy on EU delegations: Journalists' investigation details
Illustrative photo: Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary (facebook.com orbanviktor)
Belgian and Hungarian journalists have uncovered evidence suggesting that Hungarian intelligence services may have engaged in illegal surveillance of EU officials visiting the country, the investigations by De Tijd and Direkt36 report.
In particular, Hungary's Information Office (IH) (Budapest's equivalent of the CIA - ed.) reportedly monitored representatives of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) between 2015 and 2017. During this period, OLAF was investigating companies linked to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Journalists note that Hungarian intelligence services could have used the following methods for tracking:
- Searching hotel rooms of EU delegations.
- Hacking laptops and downloading confidential information.
- Wiretapping phone conversations.
- Physically following officials during their travels by car.
The activities of the Hungarian special services occurred from 2015 to 2017, when OLAF investigated a company linked to Orban.
Bertalan Havasi, Press chief of Orban's office, responded, albeit not immediately, to Politico's request regarding the government's attitude to the facts in the investigation of journalists.
"We are not dealing with fake news reports," Havasi said briefly.
However, as Politico noted, Hungary had previously been accused of hacking the phones of journalists, activists, and opposition figures, and in 2021, the government admitted to purchasing Israeli spyware Pegasus.
Earlier this year, the Hungarian government decided to ease visa restrictions for Russian tourists. The EU called this an "open door" for spies. Read more information on the topic in our material.
Furthermore, Orban threatened the EU to veto the next long-term budget if the union did not unblock funds for Hungary that had been frozen due to problems with the rule of law and corruption.
