Da anni il primo ministro ungherese Viktor Orbán spia segretamente le istituzioni dell’UE a Bruxelles

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been spying on EU institutions in Brussels for years

The Hungarian intelligence service has been using a secret spy network in Brussels for years. We reveal how Prime Minister Viktor Orbán operates with fake diplomats and moles within EU institutions. This was even done aggressively under the supervision of current European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi.

A Hungarian working for the European Commission initially saw no problem in meeting every three or six months with his compatriot V.*. He was a diplomat at the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the European Union and officially worked on economic and financial dossiers. ‘He was a very likeable, intelligent man,’ says the Commission employee. ‘Of course, I already knew at the time that he was a Hungarian intelligence officer and that his job as a diplomat was just a cover.’

The meetings, usually in a Brussels park, took place between 2015 and 2017. Until V. presented the official with an official document that he had to sign. While still working for the Commission, he was to start working as a “secret agent” for the Hungarian intelligence service, the Információs Hivatal (IH), which means “information office”.

That was possible for a fee. But because V. knew from their previous conversations that money did not personally motivate his compatriot, he promised to support an organisation that was close to his heart. ‘We can find funding for it,’ he said, adding that the money would not, of course, come directly from the IH. ‘We’ll figure it out.’ Another Hungarian government agency would officially pay that invoice.

The Commission official was shocked and politely but firmly declined the offer. Not only did he dislike the way in which the intelligence service wanted to recruit him, with a signed document, but he also disliked the fact that, in his view, this was not in Hungary’s interests, but rather in the interests of “a power clique, or even a single person”, referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He was also disturbed by the fact that, in his view, this would not be in Hungary’s interests, but rather in those of “a power clique, or even a single person”, referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, his entourage and his far-right Fidesz party.

Months of investigation by De Tijd, together with Direkt36, a non-profit centre for investigative journalism in Hungary, the German collective Paper Trail Media, the German magazine Der Spiegel and the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, now reveal how Orbán’s pawns, disguised as diplomats, are spying on EU institutions on Brussels soil.

We were able to speak to a whole range of well-informed sources, including insiders from the Hungarian intelligence service and permanent representation, as well as EU officials who had dealt with the spies themselves. They were not only asked to obtain and pass on confidential information such as meeting reports (in return for payment), but also to manipulate documents to the advantage of Orbán’s government.

These aggressive espionage practices go beyond what is considered acceptable, especially for an EU Member State. Building such secret networks within European institutions is more commonly associated with hostile nations such as Russia or China. Russian interference in the European Parliament recently led to a criminal investigation.

Obtaining information through conversation is legal, but if a diplomat pays for information or has a document signed, they are violating the Vienna Convention, which governs diplomatic relations. This is according to Gerhard Conrad, former head of the EU’s intelligence coordination service and former officer of the German intelligence service BND.

A decade ago, IH intelligence officers in Brussels began working undercover under the guise of diplomats, which offers them greater protection and freedom. It is a modus operandi for which countries such as Russia have long been notorious.

As conflicts between the Orbán government and the European Commission intensified, demand grew in Budapest for information that could only be obtained within EU institutions, including on media freedom and the budget. ‘The EU gradually became a target. When the government’s rhetoric began to focus on Brussels, the bureaucracy there also gradually became a target of the IH,’ recalls a former senior Hungarian intelligence officer.

The “bilateral” Hungarian embassy in Belgium, located right next to the campus of the European School in Uccle, is not believed to harbour any spies, unlike, for example, the bilateral Russian embassy in Uccle, which is a veritable bastion and communication centre for Russian spies in our country.

The Hungarian spies can be found at the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the EU, housed in a large postmodernist office building on Trierstraat in the European quarter.

When I read the title I imagined Orban creeping from corner to corner, trying to stay in the shadows while moving through EU institutions, but failing due to him looking like a fat goblin.

He goes behind a corner trying to listen to the conversation of a group of three people.

Person 1: Should we be worried about that – while pointing at a corner with half of Victor’s body sticking out.

Person 2: Oh I forgot you’re new. That is just Viktor. He always does that. Just ignore him.

Person 3: Sometimes it’s fun to have a jester around.

wtf EU, grow balls and declare this whole hungarian administration to persona non grata