Four days before the decisive elections in Hungary, the Commission Ursula von der Leyen hardens the tone against Víktor Orbán following the latest round of revelations that his Government filters in real time to Vladimir Putin sensitive information about what happens at European meetings.
Specifically, Orbán’s Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártóoffered his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrovsend you a document on Ukraine’s entry negotiations into the EU.
“I’ll send it to you, no problem”the Hungarian minister is heard saying in a recording of his telephone conversation with Lavrov broadcast by an investigative journalism consortium led by VSquare. “Whenever you need something, I am there for you,” concludes Szijjártó.
“The alleged revelations in this new investigative report highlight the disturbing possibility that the Government of a Member State is coordinating with Russia, thus acting against the security and interests of the EU,” Von der Leyen’s spokesperson, Paula Pinho, said this Thursday.
“This is therefore extremely worrying, and it is up to the Government of the Member State in question to urgently provide explanations. The president will also raise the issue at the leadership level“said the spokesperson, without giving further details. The next summit is scheduled for April 23 and 24 in Nicosia.
Until now, the EU leaders had opted for a calculated silence or a restrained tone in the face of information about Orbán’s alleged espionage in favor of Russia, in a gesture interpreted as an attempt not to interfere in the April 12 election campaign, in which all polls show the opposition leader, Péter Magyar, as the winner.
In fact, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallahas barely spoken about this matter. “I will simply say briefly that, as you know, European ministers should work for Europe, not for Russia,” he simply noted on March 31.
The Community Executive has also avoided commenting on the trip to Budapest by the US Vice President, JD Vance, to support Orbán’s candidacy. In the Hungarian capital, Donald Trump’s number 2 accused interference with “EU bureaucrats”.
“Viktor Orbán’s minister offered to send Sergei Lavrov EU documents through the Hungarian embassy in Moscow. It is really scandalous,” the Polish prime minister wrote on his X account. Donald Tusk, one of the toughest European leaders against Budapest.
The recordings published in recent weeks confirm that Orbán is the Kremlin’s true Trojan horse within the EU, in addition to maintaining the best of relations with the Trump administration in the United States.
The Hungarian prime minister is now blocking the 90 billion credit to keep Ukraine afloat, which he himself gave the green light to in December, and has also vetoed the twentieth package of sanctions against Moscow.
European leaders are banking everything on a Magyar victory in next Sunday’s elections. But if Orbán manages to retain his victory, they will have to make difficult decisions.
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