Hungarian espionage network targeted EU officials in Brussels, Commission investigation finds

A Hungarian espionage network operated from within Hungary's permanent representation to the European Union in Brussels, with its activities intensifying from 2015, according to a European Commission document. The investigation, led by European Commissioner for Anti-Fraud Piotr Serafin, examined allegations that Hungarian intelligence officers stationed at the mission attempted to recruit EU officials in the mid-2010s.

The document, dated April 2026, indicates that between 2013 and 2016, Hungarian intelligence services deployed several officers to the Brussels mission. While their initial activities were discreet, they became more visible starting in 2015. This increased activity alerted Hungarian EU officials, which, according to the investigation, diminished the network's effectiveness.

Olivér Várhelyi, who is currently the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, was appointed Hungary's ambassador to the EU and head of the permanent representation in 2016, the same year the network's operations reportedly intensified. Várhelyi, who had been with the representation since 2011, has previously stated to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and in European Parliament hearings that he was unaware of such activities and was never asked to transmit confidential information.

The investigation did not identify individual responsibilities beyond the intelligence officers directly involved. The Commission concluded that, based on available information, it could not attribute individual responsibility to others. The report confirms the existence of the network and its targeting of EU officials for the first time, though it states the European executive is not aware of any serious security breaches within EU institutions.