The European Union is restricting Hungary's access to confidential information, with leaders meeting in smaller groups, after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned of long-standing suspicions that Viktor Orban's government is sharing information with Russia, writes "Politico".
However, there will be no official response from the EU to the new allegations due to the possible impact on Hungary's April 12 elections, five European diplomats and officials said. They said they were concerned about the risk of Budapest leaking sensitive information to the Kremlin.
"The news that Orban's people are informing Moscow about EU Council meetings in full detail should not surprise anyone", Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who supported Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar in the election, wrote in X yesterday. "We have long suspected this. This is one of the reasons why I speak only when absolutely necessary and say exactly as much as necessary".
On Saturday, "The Washington Post" reported that Orbán's government maintained close contacts with Moscow during the war in Ukraine, and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó used breaks during meetings with other member states to brief his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
Concerns that Hungary could send information directly to Moscow are the reason for the reduction in formats for leaders' meetings with similar interests, instead of holding meetings with all 27 EU member states, one European government official explained.
"Overall, not very loyal member states are the main reason why most of the relevant European diplomacy now takes place in various smaller formats - E3, E4, E7, E8, Weimar, NB8, JEF, etc.", the official said.
The numbers refer to the number of European leaders in the group.
The Weimar alliance consists of France, Germany and Poland. NB8 are the eight countries of the Nordic and Baltic countries. JEF is the Joint Expeditionary Force of 10 northern European countries.
Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who has often attended Council meetings that Szijjártó has also attended, said he was warned as early as 2024 that the Hungarian side could pass information to Russia and that he and his colleagues limited the information they shared when he was present.
Even before the critical NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023, envoys took steps to exclude the Budapest delegation from sensitive talks, Landsbergis said.
"We only speak officially, and later we separate to talk without Hungary about the achievable goals of the summit," he explained.
According to reports, the Group of Nine in Bucharest - a club of countries on NATO's eastern flank, has considered excluding Budapest from next year's format over failures to agree on support for Ukraine.
Hungarian Minister for European Affairs János Boka said the weekend reports were "fake news", intended as "a desperate reaction against Orban's Fidesz party, which is gaining momentum in the election campaign. But the Hungarian people will not be deceived".
For his part, Szijjártó rejected the "Washington Post" claims and accused the media of putting forward "conspiracy theories that are more absurd than anything seen before".
"There are arguments for classifying information and documents by the EU," a diplomat said. Although the use of the term "classified information" "is not a panacea", it could "serve as a deterrent against leaks and the transfer of sensitive information to third parties. This would make investigations more automated".
The five diplomats said they were not surprised by the news, but that any official response would depend on whether Orban is re-elected in April. Despite trailing Hungary's "Tisza" in the polls, the Hungarian prime minister said on Friday that he "can" secure another term.
"This undermines the trust, cooperation and integrity of the European Union," a second diplomat said of the allegations. "This is a deplorable situation. If he stays after the election, I think the EU needs to find ways to deal with this in other ways."
Another warned that whatever the EU and its leaders do, Orban will use it to his advantage in the campaign. "I don't think anyone is in a hurry to do anything that would add fuel to the fire before April 12," they commented.
Despite broad agreement on the threat posed by Russia, a fourth diplomat said the content of discussions between leaders and foreign ministers is routinely reported in the press and often takes place in an unrestricted format, meaning leaders do not leave their phones outside to minimize the risk of surveillance. But the prospect of an EU government working so closely with a hostile state remains politically explosive.
"The fact that the Hungarian foreign minister - a close friend of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - reports to the Russians practically minute by minute from every EU meeting is blatant treason", Magyar said at a campaign rally over the weekend.
"This man has not only betrayed his own country, but also Europe".
The allegations come as Orban's foreign backers are heading to Budapest to help him campaign in the final stages of the election. Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a political rival of Tusk, will attend the events today, and US Vice President J.D. Vance will arrive before the vote next month.
Orban refused to sign off on a much-needed 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine at the European Council on Friday, sparking a furious reaction from his fellow leaders.
"It would not be surprising if this turns out to be true," a fifth EU diplomat said of the allegations.
"Hungary has long been an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the EU and continues to sabotage European security. The blocked 90 billion euro is just another example of this pattern."