Image Credentials: Image Title: Hungarian Spy Ring Targeted EU Officials, European Commission Investigation Confirms. Source: (chatgpt.com) Date: June 2026. Attribution: This image was created using AI-generated imagery (chatgpt.com) by Open Chronicle and does not depict a real-world scene.
By Open Chronicle with Agencies
An official European Commission investigation has concluded that a Hungarian intelligence network operated from Hungary’s Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels, confirming long-standing allegations that intelligence officers targeted EU officials and attempted to gather sensitive internal information.
The findings, contained in an investigation led by European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin, substantiate reports first published by investigative outlet Direkt36. According to the Commission’s report, Hungarian intelligence activities became significantly more visible from 2015 onward before ending the following year.
Intelligence activity intensified after 2015
According to the investigation, Hungarian intelligence services deployed several officers to the country’s Permanent Representation to the EU between 2013 and 2016.
While their activities were initially discreet, the Commission found that operations became increasingly overt beginning in 2015, eventually becoming widely known among Hungarian officials working within EU institutions.
The report concludes that this visibility ultimately reduced the effectiveness of the intelligence operation, with the activities believed to have ceased in 2016.
Officials allegedly targeted for internal Commission information
The investigation found that intelligence officers used diplomatic positions to approach European Commission employees of Hungarian nationality.
According to the report, their objective extended well beyond the normal responsibilities associated with diplomatic work.
Investigators concluded that intelligence officers attempted to obtain detailed information about internal Commission work on subjects considered important to the Hungarian government.
The Commission stated that the activities represented a coordinated intelligence effort rather than routine diplomatic engagement.
Várhelyi denies knowledge
The period during which the intelligence operation intensified coincided with the appointment of Olivér Várhelyi as head of Hungary’s Permanent Representation to the European Union in 2015.
Várhelyi later became a European Commissioner and currently serves as Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare.
Following media reports published last year, Várhelyi informed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that he did not know about any espionage activities. He repeated the same position during questioning by Members of the European Parliament earlier this year.
The Commission’s investigation did not identify evidence linking individual officials, including Várhelyi, directly to the intelligence operation.
No individual responsibility established
Although the investigation confirmed the existence of the network, Commission investigators said their available powers did not allow them to attribute responsibility beyond the intelligence officers involved.
The report also stated that investigators found no evidence of any serious security breach within the Commission.
Nevertheless, the findings mark the first official confirmation by the European Commission that Hungarian intelligence officers operated from the country’s diplomatic mission in Brussels while targeting EU officials for sensitive institutional information.
No response from the Hungarian representation
Politico reported that Hungary’s Permanent Representation to the European Union did not respond to requests for comment regarding the Commission’s findings.
The investigation concludes one of the most significant espionage inquiries involving an EU member state’s diplomatic mission in Brussels, raising fresh questions about intelligence activities within European institutions and the safeguards protecting sensitive policymaking.