The European Union is restricting Hungary's access to discuss sensitive issues. The reason was suspicions of a possible leak of information to Moscow. This was reported by Politico with reference to European diplomats.
EU restricts Hungary due to risk of data leakage
The European Union has restricted Hungary's access to discuss confidential materials. This decision was made amid fears that Budapest could pass on information to Russia.
According to Politico, five European diplomats and officials have confirmed that there is a risk of data leakage from Hungary. There will be no official EU response yet because of the possible impact on the Hungarian elections scheduled for 12 April.
Small group meetings and previous incidents
Due to the distrust of Hungary, the EU has become increasingly popular with the formats of meetings of leaders in a narrow circle. Instead of discussions with all 27 members of the Union, leaders prefer the E3, E4, E7, E8, Weimar Alliance, NB8, and JEF groups.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis said that in 2024 he had received warnings about the possibility of Hungary passing information to Russia. Before the NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023, the Budapest delegation was already excluded from discussions of sensitive issues.
Political situation and diplomatic reaction
Five diplomats said that the news of the restrictions did not come as a surprise. At the same time, the EU's official response will depend on the outcome of the Hungarian elections in April.
Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban said he expects to be re-elected, despite lagging behind the Tysa party in the polls.
Context.
This is not the first time Hungary has been suspected of passing information to Russia. For several years now, the EU and NATO have been holding closed meetings without Budapest's participation.
Restricting Hungary's access to confidential discussions was another step in response to growing concerns about the security of European data.
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