Di Rupo requests investigation by European Parliament into possible espionage by Hungary

Research by the Belgian newspaper De Tijd, the Hungarian non-profit organization Direkt36, the collective Paper Trail Media, the German magazine Der Spiegel, and the Austrian newspaper Der Standard has revealed that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been spying on the institutions of the European Union for years through a secret network of intelligence officers. This would occur, among other things, via Hungary’s permanent representation to the EU, even when the current Hungarian Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi was ambassador.

“We take such accusations very seriously, as always, and we continue to commit ourselves to protecting the staff, information, and networks of the Commission against illegal gathering of intelligence,” responded spokesperson Balazs Ujvari. He did not want to reveal too much about “a matter of operational security,” but “we will set up an internal group to examine these accusations.”

The spokesperson for President Ursula von der Leyen could not say whether the president will talk to Várhelyi about the allegations or take other steps. But “this is obviously the kind of information that reaches the president.”

Belgian Member of the European Parliament Elio Di Rupo also called for a parliamentary investigation into the allegations during the plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday. “I ask for the situation to be clarified in an ad-hoc committee. If the allegations prove to be true after a preliminary analysis, I call for a committee of inquiry from the European Parliament,” said the socialist. “If that news were true, it would be one of the biggest scandals in the history of the EU, and again evidence that the treaties of the European Union have not been adapted to reality.”

Also, Member of the European Parliament Sara Matthieu (Green) states that the case “must be investigated to the core. “The role of Commissioner Várhelyi is explosive. If he was indeed actively involved in espionage, he cannot remain in office,” she also says. “I urge Von der Leyen to conduct an independent investigation and impose severe consequences.”