EU demands Hungary explain claims of Russian information leak

Pressure mounted on Hungary on Thursday after new reports alleged Budapest shared sensitive EU material with Moscow, prompting Brussels to demand that the government “explain itself as a matter of urgency”.

Last month, a consortium of Eastern European outlets — The Insider, VSquare and Delfi — reported that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto had given Russia “direct-line” access to “strategic information on crucial issues”.

In a follow-up investigation published Wednesday, the outlets alleged that Mr Szijjarto offered to “immediately” forward an EU document to Russia via Hungary’s embassy in Moscow concerning Ukraine’s accession talks with the bloc.

The allegations have triggered anger across Europe just days before Sunday’s election in Hungary, where nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seeking a fifth term.

“This is therefore extremely concerning, and it is for the member state government in question to explain itself as a matter of urgency,” European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho said at a press conference.

Earlier on Thursday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described the reported telephone contacts as a “betrayal”.

“This is a betrayal of the solidarity required between the countries of the European Union,” Mr Barrot told broadcaster France Inter.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto is accused of leaking ‘strategic information on crucial issues’

How Viktor Orban has built an advantage heading into Hungary’s vote

Observers and NGOs have voiced concern that Sunday’s Hungarian presidential election is being held on an “uneven playing field”, with nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban facing a strong challenge from Peter Magyar.

Over 16 years in office, Mr Orban and his ruling coalition have used their supermajority to reshape the electoral system, deploy state resources in campaigning and preside over sweeping changes to the media landscape through allied business figures.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has grown steadily more critical in its election assessments since concluding in 2014 that Mr Orban’s ruling party benefited from an “undue advantage”.

For the second consecutive election, the OSCE has sent a full observation mission — only the third time such a deployment has taken place in an EU member state.

Mr Orban has defended Hungary’s system as a “very strong” democracy, saying his government “very strongly believes in… competition in politics”.

Advantage at polls

Analysts say Mr Orban could still hold onto his majority even if the Fidesz-KNDP alliance trails in the popular vote by three or four percentage points, because of the 2011 electoral overhaul and the constituency map redraw that followed.

Preferential mandates for ethnic minorities — which require far fewer votes to secure a parliamentary seat — may also work in his alliance’s favour, since representatives of both the German and Roma minorities typically back the ruling coalition.

Hungarians living in neighbouring countries, many of whom credit Mr Orban for simplified naturalisation under a 2010 law, can vote by mail, unlike emigrants, who tend to be more critical of the nationalist leader.

Rights groups have warned that outdated voter rolls and weak ballot safeguards could open the door to mail-in votes being cast in the names of deceased individuals.

Those concerns are heightened by the fact that Orban-allied parties in Romania and Serbia collect ballots from Hungarians living there.

Media control

Since returning to power in 2010, Mr Orban has overseen the closure of numerous independent outlets, while others were acquired by business allies and remade into pro-Fidesz publications.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says 80 percent of Hungary’s press is in the hands of “oligarchs” linked to the governing coalition, who also receive nearly all state advertising revenue.

Critics say those outlets, together with state media, largely repeat the government’s line without challenge.

An 11-month study carried out last year by the Republikon Institute found that the main public television news programme portrayed Mr Orban positively 95 percent of the time, while his challenger, Mr Magyar, appeared in a negative context 96 percent of the time.

Mr Orban’s government has repeatedly denied interfering with the media.

Campaigning on taxpayers’ money

Mr Orban also faces accusations of using state resources to bolster his re-election campaign, while the government insists it has a duty to “inform” the public, even during election periods.

In the run-up to the vote, his party used several state mailing lists — including that of the tax authority — to circulate campaign messages.

The government has also mounted a broad, taxpayer-funded media blitz promoting its anti-Ukraine positions, including opposition to Kyiv joining the European Union, with the latest billboards showing the nationalist premier’s face and urging Hungarians to “stand together”.

Some state-owned companies, among them electricity distributor MVM, have also financed outdoor advertising that reinforces Mr Orban’s core messaging on energy.

A 2024 investigation by conservative outlet Valasz Online found that the government had also channelled millions of euros to dozens of local NGOs linked to the ruling party, some of them sharing office space with Fidesz.

Media reports have said several of those associations have distributed pamphlets backing ruling party candidates during the current campaign.