The access of the Russia-friendly party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) to confidential EU documents raises fears that sensitive discussions are becoming known to Moscow, three EU diplomats and four German parliamentarians said, Politico reports, writes UNN.
Details
German parliamentarians, including those from the far-right AfD party, have access to a database containing thousands of EU files. Among them are confidential records of ambassadorial meetings where bloc diplomats discuss their countries' positions on geopolitical issues, such as plans to finance Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, the publication writes.
"The problem is that we have a party, the AfD, about which there are reasonable suspicions of leaking information to China or Russia," said Green Party MP Anton Hofreiter, chairman of the Bundestag's EU Affairs Committee.
These suspicions affect how delicate negotiations are conducted, as diplomats increasingly consider the risk of information leaks.
Last weekend, media accused Budapest of transmitting information about confidential EU leaders' negotiations to Moscow, which the Hungarian foreign minister called "fake news." EU countries are already holding meetings in small groups due to fears that "not-so-loyal" countries might transmit confidential information to Putin's government, a European government official said.
EU excludes Hungary from sensitive talks over fears of 'leaks' to Russia - Politico23.03.26, 08:58
"We are taking all precautions in Brussels to protect confidential information and meetings," said one senior EU diplomat. But the access of Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEPs to confidential materials "leaves a huge 'Putin' hole in our security measures."
"We are all cautious about sharing confidential information in the 27-member EU format," said another diplomat. "Whether it's because of [Hungarian leader Viktor] Orban or because of the German system... we don't freely share all information as we would in a circle of closest confidants at the negotiating table with 27 member states. This is the Hungarian factor, and this is the Alternative for Germany factor."
"The ambassador cannot guarantee that any confidential information he says in the Coreper [EU ambassadors' format] will not go directly to the Russians or China," the diplomat continued.
The diplomats interviewed by the publication said they were unaware of any official discussions of these issues - "more at the water cooler," the same diplomat said, adding that many conversations about these issues take place on the sidelines of meetings, especially among countries in northwestern Europe.
The "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) party denies transmitting information from the system to Russia or China. "We do not comment on unsubstantiated accusations," a representative of the AfD parliamentary faction said in response to a request for comment.
Unlike the parliaments of other bloc countries, all deputies and their assistants in the German Bundestag have access to EuDoX - a database containing thousands of EU files, from briefing protocols at ministerial summits to summaries of confidential ambassadorial meetings. "The system was created as a safeguard against uncontrolled executive power, which is of particular concern in Germany given its Nazi past," the publication writes.
The documents - about 25,000 per year - are entered into the system by a special unit of the Bundestag, which receives them from the government. The database contains documents with "restricted access," which is the lowest level of secrecy for confidential information.
"In principle, this [access] is absolutely correct and necessary for us to fulfill our task... of monitoring the federal government, and since most of this happens at the EU level, it is, as I said, necessary," said Hofreiter of the Green Party.
Experts also noted that the government is well aware that a large number of people have access to the system, and that this creates the possibility of leaks.
"Given that EuDoX is a relatively open platform with 5,000 authorized users, there is nothing particularly confidential in it. The federal government knows exactly what it uploads to it," said law professor Sven Höltscheidt from Free University Berlin, who studied this database.
However, seven German parliamentarians or their assistants who use this database told the publication that "the access of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a security threat."
"The AfD's obvious closeness to Putin, the contacts of numerous AfD parliamentarians with the Russian embassy, their trips to Moscow, their use of Russian propaganda rhetoric, and deliberate attempts to obtain security-related information through parliamentary inquiries cause sleepless nights for everyone who deeply cares about the country's security," said Roland Tais, a senior lawmaker from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives in the Bundestag's EU Affairs Committee.
Centrist deputies stated that "Alternative for Germany (AfD) politicians are disclosing information that may be of interest to Russian intelligence." This, as indicated, includes government information on local drone defense systems, Western arms supplies to Ukraine, and information on Russian sabotage and hybrid operations in the Baltic Sea.
At the end of last year, party deputies were widely accused of using their right to submit parliamentary inquiries to collect information for the Kremlin, but the party leadership rejected these accusations. Earlier, in 2025, a former assistant to MEP Maximilian Krah was convicted of spying for China.
"Overall, we are very concerned about how the AfD handles confidential information," said Johannes Schraps, a senior SPD lawmaker on the Bundestag's EU Affairs Committee, adding that this concern "stems from a broader trend."
According to Schraps, last year the Bundestag administration took some steps to ensure information security, including banning some AfD employees from accessing buildings and parliamentary IT systems.