Hungarian intelligence agency spied on EU officials
11 December 2024
Searching hotel rooms and hacking laptops – a joint investigation report by the Belgian De Tijd and Hungarian Direkt36 claims that the Hungarian intelligence agency spied on EU officials who visited Budapest between 2015-2017. At this time, OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud agency, was investigating the misuse of EU funds tied to a company founded by prime minister Viktor Orbán's son-in-law.
According to the report, the Hungarian intelligence officers recorded the OLAF investigators' phone calls, followed them around and spied on private meetings. Furthermore, it is claimed that there were periods when almost all EU delegations visiting Hungary were spied on. The Hungarian government dismissed the allegations, saying they "do not deal with fake news reports."
 | Erik Szilárd Boros This is not the first time the Hungarian government has been embroiled in an espionage scandal. In the summer of 2021, Orbán's party Fidesz was caught up in the Pegasus scandal. Back then, an investigation by Direkt36 uncovered that the government used the Israeli software to spy on critics and journalists. News of this espionage affair will likely further undermine Hungary's position in the EU as the country is approaching the end of its EU Council presidency. |
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