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Von der Leyen to confront Hungary’s EU Commissioner over reported espionage attempts in EU institutions
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi amid calls for an independent inquiry into Hungary's alleged espionage in EU institutions.
- European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho said at a Brussels briefing that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will discuss espionage allegations with Hungarian Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi on October 10, with the meeting planned at the earliest convenience.
- Investigative outlet Direkt36 reported the alleged recruitment effort occurred during the 2010s and intensified in 2015–2019 as disputes over media freedom, rule of law, and judicial independence deepened.
- According to the investigation, Hungarian operatives reviewed Hungarian nationals working at EU bodies and tried to recruit some through intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover at the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the EU in Brussels.
- Transparency International urged the European Parliament to set up its own enquiry as the EU's only directly elected body, while The Left demanded an independent parliamentary enquiry with full transparency.
- Critics link the allegations to broader rule-of-law erosion, as intelligence circles view Hungary as a `purple country`, raising EU member-state relations and corruption concerns under Viktor Orbán's government.
23 Articles
23 Articles
EP Liberals Demand Crackdown on Commissioner Várhelyi over Spy Allegations - Hungarian Conservative
Renew Europe chief Valérie Hayer has demanded that Ursula von der Leyen ‘use her power to act’ over reports of an alleged Hungarian spy network in Brussels tied to Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi. Hungarian officials strongly denied the story, calling it a foreign-funded smear campaign designed to damage Budapest ahead of next year’s election.
The Várhelyi affair: When an EU member state spies on Brussels
The Várhelyi spying allegations pose a question the European Union has never had to answer so starkly: what happens when a member state treats the institutions it helped create not as a common project, but as hostile territory to be infiltrated and undermined? asks Alberto Alemanno.
If Olivér Várhelyi knew about the work of the intelligence officers, he will still be in trouble.
Hungarian European Commissioner Varhelyi has had to "defend" himself to his boss Ursula von der Leyen over revelations that Orban's government is trying to recruit its citizens working in EU institutions in Brussels to spy for Budapest. Varhelyi claimed he was "not aware" of the alleged Hungarian espionage attempts in Brussels.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, discussed Sunday with the Hungarian European Commissioner about Hungarian spying suspects in European institutions; it claimed that it is not currently with such activities, said the press...
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Bias Distribution
- 58% of the sources lean Left
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