Hungary spied on EU institutions for years and tried to recruit officials, reports say
Illustrative photo: spies worked under diplomatic cover (Getty Images)
Hungary spied on European Union institutions for years and tried to recruit its officials for its own interests, according to a joint investigation by the German Spiegel, the Belgian De Tijd, and the Hungarian Direkt36 agencies.
Exposure of V from Hungary
Journalists concluded that one of the Hungarian spies was a certain V, who was sent to Brussels between 2015 and 2017. There, he was under diplomatic cover.
The Hungarian so-called diplomat tried to recruit a European Commission official.
According to a senior EC official, V was interested not only in the affairs of the European Commission but also in all kinds of gossip and rumors. The Hungarian envoy met with him every few months, and the meetings were friendly in nature.
V also proposed ideas that would increase the number of Hungarians in EU structures. Later, the so-called diplomat offered money, but the journalist's interlocutor claims that he refused it.
Documents from the Hungarian Embassy to the EU confirm that in 2015, V. worked in the cohesion policy department. His boss at the time was the Hungarian ambassador to the EU, Oliver Várhelyi, who is now a European Commissioner.
According to media reports, Hungary put pressure on its spies and demanded results, which probably led to V's exposure in 2017.
The government, led by Viktor Orbán, demanded information as quickly as possible, so in several cases, spies communicated through unsecured channels.
In addition, EU officials reported suspicious recruitment attempts by V.
However, the Belgian State Security Service said it could neither confirm nor deny this information.
However, the exposure of V. did not prevent him from continuing his career—last year, he published an article in a Hungarian military intelligence magazine on the topic of current challenges for special services.
According to this agency, he is a lieutenant colonel and an employee of the Information Bureau, Hungary's special service, which is primarily involved in foreign intelligence.
Other Hungarian spies in EU
According to Spiegel, two other Hungarian spies were likely operating in the EU, who attracted attention during the same period due to their overly intrusive attempts to establish contacts.
In December, de Tijd and Direkt36 reported that Hungarian agents were monitoring investigators from the European Anti-Fraud Office.
Officials from this EU body were investigating allegations of corruption involving a company owned by the son-in-law of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. This company had been awarded government contracts.
Hungary is part of the EU's intelligence cooperation network, and allied states usually refrain from spying on each other.
Hungary in EU
The current Hungarian leaders really stand out in the EU with their loud statements and positions that contradict the positions of the majority of the bloc.
RBC-Ukraine wrote about the spat between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz when it came to a peaceful settlement of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Budapest has repeatedly blocked sanctions against Russia and other bloc decisions that do not concern Ukraine, which has created real tension within the EU.
On October 9, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained why Hungary is opposing the majority decision of the bloc and, in particular, hindering Ukraine's accession to the EU.
