Hungarian intelligence used the country's diplomatic representation to the European Union in Brussels for espionage activities. This was confirmed by an official investigation of the European Commission, reports The Guardian, citing UNN.
Details
In a letter from the European Commissioner for Budget and Public Administration, Piotr Serafin, to members of the European Parliament, it is noted that in 2013–2016, Hungarian intelligence placed several of its employees in the country's diplomatic representation to the EU.
According to the investigation, they used diplomatic cover to carry out a "special mission" that went beyond the usual duties of diplomats. Initially, the agents' activities were covert, but from 2015 became significantly more noticeable, which ultimately hindered its continuation.
The European Commission believes that the espionage activities ceased in 2016 and did not lead to a serious breach of security of EU institutions
As the publication notes, this period coincides with the time when the current Hungarian European Commissioner, Oliver Varhelyi, headed Hungary's permanent representation to the EU. He himself previously denied knowing about the espionage activities.
At the same time, the European Commission's letter does not mention Varhelyi and emphasizes that the investigation was unable to establish individual responsibility of anyone other than the Hungarian intelligence officers themselves.
According to The Guardian, allegations of espionage emerged last year following a joint journalistic investigation by the Hungarian publication Direkt36, Belgian and German media.
It was reported then that Hungarian intelligence attempted to recruit European Commission officials and obtain secret documents.
Leak of EU document confirms existence of Hungarian spy network02.07.26, 20:16