European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will address allegations of Hungarian espionage with Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi — but has ruled out suspending him at this stage.
“So far, these are only allegations,” Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho told POLITICO when asked whether the Hungarian commissioner would be suspended pending the EU executive’s probe.
The European Commission said Thursday it would examine reports that claim Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government deployed intelligence officers to Brussels to gather information on EU institutions and to recruit an EU official.
According to the joint investigation by Germany’s Der Spiegel, Belgian daily De Tijd and Hungarian outlet Direkt36, Hungarian intelligence officers disguised as diplomats attempted to infiltrate EU institutions during the period when Várhelyi (now a European commissioner) served as Hungary’s ambassador to the EU.
Pinho said the Commission takes the allegations “very seriously,” given their implications for the security and integrity of EU operations, and confirmed that von der Leyen intends to discuss the matter directly with Várhelyi.
“She has not yet had the occasion to do so, but this will happen at the earliest opportunity,” the spokesperson said.
“We are determined to protect our personnel, our information, and our networks against any attempt to illegally collect information,” she added.
The Commission also announced plans to establish an internal working group to assess the allegations. While the decision to set up the group has been made, its composition and mandate are still being defined, another spokesperson, Balazs Ujvari, said.
The post Von der Leyen won’t suspend Hungary’s commissioner amid spy affair allegations appeared first on Politico.
