EU sidelines Hungary over leaks to Kremlin fears
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó (Photo: Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS)
The European Union is restricting the flow of sensitive information to Budapest and increasingly holding discussions in smaller groups, amid longstanding concerns that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government may be sharing confidential details with Russia, Politico reported on March 22, citing five European diplomats and officials.
According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the EU leaders have long suspected that Budapest is sharing information with Russia.
“The news that Orbán’s people inform Moscow about EU Council meetings in every detail shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. We’ve had our suspicions about that for a long time. That’s one reason why I take the floor only when strictly necessary and say just as much as necessary,” Tusk said.
His comments followed a report that Hungary has maintained close contacts with the Kremlin during the war in Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó allegedly relaying updates to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Several European diplomats said that concerns over potential leaks have led to an increase in smaller diplomatic formats that exclude certain member states, and that sensitive discussions are now more frequently held outside of full EU meetings Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said officials had already begun limiting what they shared in Hungary’s presence as early as 2024.
“Overall the less-than-loyal member states are the main reason why most of relevant European diplomacy is now happening in different smaller formats — E3, E4, E7, E8, Weimar, NB8, JEF, etc,” a European official said.
The numerals refer to the number of European leaders in the group. The Weimar alliance comprises France, Germany and Poland. NB8 is the eight countries in the Nordics and Baltics. JEF is the Joint Expeditionary Force of 10 northern European nations.
Despite the concerns, the Brussels is holding off on any formal response ahead of Hungary’s April 12 election, wary of influencing the campaign.
Hungary’s Europe Minister János Bóka dismissed the allegations as “fake news,” while Szijjártó called them “preposterous conspiracy theories.”
Diplomats say further restrictions on information-sharing may follow, particularly if Orbán remains in power, warning the situation risks undermining trust and cooperation within the bloc.
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