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The European Union has begun restricting Hungary's access to sensitive information and organizing diplomatic meetings in smaller formats, amid concerns about possible data leaks to Russia, Politico reported, citing several European diplomats and officials.
The development comes after statements by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has expressed long-standing suspicions about Viktor Orbán's government's ties to Moscow. In a reaction on the X platform, Tusk stated that allegations of information being passed by Orbán's associates to Russia "should not surprise anyone."
According to Politico 's sources , the European Union is not expected to take an official response at this stage, to avoid potential impact on the Hungarian elections on April 12. However, concerns about information security remain high.
A report by The Washington Post notes that the Hungarian government has maintained close contacts with Russia during the war in Ukraine. According to the source, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó allegedly used interruptions during international meetings to communicate with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. These claims remain officially unconfirmed.
As a result, some member states have increased their use of smaller cooperation formats, avoiding discussions at the level of the full 27 countries. One European official linked this trend to the strengthening of mechanisms such as the E3, E4, E7, E8, the Weimar format, NB8 and the JEF.
The Weimar format includes France, Germany and Poland, while the NB8 consists of eight Northern European and Baltic countries. The JEF is a joint expeditionary force of ten Northern European countries.
Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told Politico that warnings about possible leaks from the Hungarian side existed as early as 2024. He added that some European officials were limiting the information they shared in the presence of Minister Szijjártó. According to him, similar measures were also taken before the NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023.
In this context, the group of countries on NATO's eastern flank, known as the "Bucharest Nine", has also considered the possibility of excluding Hungary due to disagreements regarding support for Ukraine.
Hungarian authorities, on the other hand, have dismissed these reports. Minister for European Affairs János Bóka described them as “fake news”, while Péter Szijjártó accused the media of spreading “conspiracy theories”.
Diplomatic sources in the EU do not rule out further measures, including stricter classification of documents and limiting access to information, as part of efforts to prevent leaks and strengthen institutional security.
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