The Belgian State Security Service (VSSE/Sûreté de l’État), in cooperation with the counterintelligence services of several EU countries, announced the uncovering of one of the largest spy networks of the last decade, which operated directly from the building of the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the European Union.
According to the investigation, from 2021 to 2022, there was effectively a parallel “operational core” within the Hungarian representation in Brussels, which used diplomatic immunity and the mission’s infrastructure to coordinate the collection of intelligence for the benefit of a third country.
The main focus of interest was the inner workings of EU decision-making, particularly on sanctions policy, energy issues, aid to Ukraine, and enlargement prospects.
The network consisted of 7–9 people, only three of whom had official diplomatic status. The others worked under the cover of “local staff,” “consultants,” and “temporary technical specialists.”
At least 14 cases of classified and confidential EU documents being transferred outside the mission building through non-diplomatic channels were recorded. According to the investigation, the main beneficiary of the information obtained was the intelligence service of one of the Middle Eastern countries.
At present, two employees have already been stripped of their diplomatic immunity and have left Belgium. Three others are under house arrest in Brussels. As of today, the building of the Permanent Representation of Hungary is under increased surveillance by the Belgian special services.
Experts are already calling this scandal the most serious blow to trust within the EU since the “Chinese spy scandal” in the European Parliament in 2022–2023.