European officials are quietly limiting the flow of sensitive information to Hungary amid allegations that it shares intelligence with Moscow, but EU leaders are reportedly holding back from formal action, wary of influencing Hungary’s April 12 elections, according to a report by Politico.
The article comes on the heels of a report by The Washington Post, which suggested that not only has Viktor Orbán’s conservative government “provided Moscow with a vital window into sensitive discussions in the E.U.,” but that in order to keep the prime minister in power, the Kremlin has even contemplated “the staging of an assassination attempt on Viktor Orban” during the campaign to garner sympathy for Orbán and to shift the focus of the campaign away from “socioeconomic questions.”
Articles by liberal and progressive media outlets accusing the Budapest cabinet of all kinds of wrongdoing are coming thick and fast, with only weeks before the pivotal election in Hungary.
Hungary has long positioned itself as a defender of national sovereignty, resisting overreach from Brussels on issues ranging from migration and LGBT propaganda to military support for Ukraine. That stance has increasingly put it at odds with liberal Western governments and EU institutions.
It is unsurprising that liberal circles are intent on portraying Viktor Orbán’s government as colluding with Russia.
While Budapest has indeed been the only EU member state since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to maintain pragmatic ties to Moscow, it has done that in a bid to seek a ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, as well as to procure cheap Russian oil and gas.
Hungary is currently being lambasted for blocking a €90 billion EU-loan to Ukraine, but Budapest insists it will only agree to lift its veto if Kyiv finally stops blocking the transit of Russian oil to Hungary.
According to Brussels Signal, the source of the Washington Post story on Hungary may have been Poland, whose current liberal government has a hostile attitude towards Orbán. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a favourite of the Brussels elite, reacted quickly to the U.S. article, saying it “should not surprise anyone.”
European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper also said on Monday, March 23rd, that the recent allegations concerning Hungary were “greatly concerning” and stressed that trust between member states is “fundamental,” calling on Hungary to provide clarification.
The Hungarian government has firmly rejected the claims. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó dismissed reports that he shared sensitive information with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov as “senseless conspiracy theories.”
European Affairs Minister János Bóka told Politico the reports over the weekend were “fake news” designed as “a desperate reaction to [Orbáan’s party] Fidesz gaining momentum in the election campaign.”
The election will be a tight race, pitting Fidesz—which has been in power for the past sixteen years— against the Europhile Tisza Party, supported by Tusk and his liberal allies.
Reports of a pro-Ukrainian disinformation network operating in Hungary—allegedly boosting opposition figure Péter Magyar—have deepened concerns in government circles that the election is being influenced from abroad.
The EU itself is interfering in the Hungarian election campaign by activating its so-called Rapid Response System, allowing left-wing NGOs and ‘fact-checkers’ to monitor content on social media—with the likely intent of censoring right-wing voices and suppressing support for Fidesz.
Most recently, an audio recording leaked to conservative outlet Mandiner suggests that a Hungarian investigative reporter working for EU- and Soros-funded liberal ‘investigative’ websites VSquare and Direkt36 helped the intelligence services of unnamed countries eavesdrop on Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó’s phone conversations.
Zoltán Kottász is a journalist for europeanconservative.com, based in Budapest. He worked for many years as a journalist and as the editor of the foreign desk at the Hungarian daily, Magyar Nemzet. He focuses primarily on European politics.
