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Can Hungary lose NATO, EU membership due to its ‘too close’ Russia ties?
An investigation by The Washington Post over the weekend revealed that Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s Foreign Minister, routinely “reports” to his Russian counterpart on negotiations unfolding within the EU. Szabolcs Panyi today publicised a conversation with Lavrov in which Szijjártó urges him to arrange a meeting with Peter Pellegrini ahead of Slovakia’s elections. Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, says it is common knowledge that Szijjártó briefs Moscow – a claim corroborated by the former Lithuanian Foreign Minister. Could expulsion from NATO or the EU be the next step for our country?
Washington Post: Szijjártó feeds intelligence to the Russians
This morning, Politico devoted a lengthy article to the matter covered by Washington Post journalists at the weekend. It notes that certain negotiations are now confined to small groups involving just a handful of states, precisely to prevent sensitive information reaching countries hostile to the EU – Russia in particular.
The Washington Post reported at the weekend that Péter Szijjártó regularly informs his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, about discussions at various EU gatherings. Péter Magyar has branded this treason, adding that the Orbán government is thereby betraying Europe too. Although specifics on the intelligence shared with Lavrov were not disclosed, Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, has endorsed the allegation, describing it as common knowledge in EU circles.
Politico: Hungary’s room for manoeuvre shrinks in the EU
Politico spoke to five EU diplomats, all of whom confirmed the claims. One indicated that the proliferation of formats (E3, E4, E7, E8, Weimar, NB8, JEF) exists because Hungary is barred from certain talks to avert leaks. The article does not scrutinise whether most of these are regional matters or gatherings of the EU’s “great powers”, from which Hungary would naturally be excluded in any case. It singles out the Bucharest Nine, where Budapest’s exclusion has been mooted – though only over disagreements on Ukraine.
The former Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, also confirmed the reports, noting that he was warned in early 2024 that the Hungarian side might leak to the Russians. He cited a prior instance when the Hungarian delegation was excluded from delicate discussions.
Hungarian government ministers dismiss the entire affair as “fake news”, insisting there is no substance to the leak allegations. They see it merely as desperate EU assistance for Péter Magyar, whose campaign is in crisis, while Viktor Orbán gains ground and draws ever larger crowds on his domestic tour.
A different approach needed if Orbán survives the election
Another EU official says trust in the Hungarians has hit rock bottom, and if Orbán remains in power after 12 April – by which point the EU will have stayed silent on the issue to avoid influencing the vote – some alternative means must be found to manage the situation. Fortunately, the article does not raise the prospect of expulsion from the EU, but severing financial flows to Hungary would nonetheless be unprecedented and devastating on the fiscal front.
One Politico source highlights the Orbán government as Putin’s allies in the EU, continually sabotaging European security.
Will NATO survive Trump?
If the bar trembles in the EU, our place in NATO appears secure for now. Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki is due in Hungary soon, while US Vice-President JD Vance will lend a hand to the campaign sprint in early April ahead of the elections. Quite another matter is how hollowed-out NATO has become when its strongest member’s president routinely attacks fellow members – and previously did not rule out invading the sovereign territory of one. Denmark, as emerged over the weekend, was preparing stiff armed resistance on Greenland had US troops landed.
Hungarian government meddles freely in others’ affairs
Szabolcs Panyi, journalist for Direkt36 and Warsaw’s VSquare, has just released a conversation between Lavrov and Szijjártó. This does not prove the above allegations but does underscore the close ties between the two governments – and Hungary’s 2020 efforts to keep what it saw as its allied Slovak social democrats in power. Those proved futile, as Smer lost handsomely on 29 February. The Hungarian government invariably protests furiously whenever a foreign figure so much as suggests backing the opposition in an election or that it is time for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to step down.
If you missed our previous articles concerning Hungary’s foreign policy:
- “Dear Donald, don’t raise your hopes too high”, said PM Orbán, then criticised his own son-in-law’s luxury life
- “I hope he wins big”: Trump backs PM Orbán in video message at CPAC Hungary
The allegations against Hungary acting as an agent of Russia inside the EU and NATO are coming from too many different sources to be dismissed as “Fake News”. Beyond that anyone can use simple logic to observe Hungary’s consistent action over four years to obstruct both organizations and promote Russian interests. To pick one I point out Hungary’s obstruction of Swedish and Finnish accession into NATO. The Hungarian government never provided any coherent reason for its’ obstruction. It points very strongly to collusion with Putin. Look up the history of the Lithuanian empire of the 18th century. The nobles in its’ assembly had veto powers over decision making. Catherine the Great of Russia bribed nobles to obstruct action to raise a Lithuanian army in response to military threats from Russia and others. The Lithuanian Semj was paralyzed into inaction. The empire subsequently collapsed to the benefit of Russia. The exact same thing happens now in the EU but it is Orban who has been bribed by Russia to obstruct Europe into paralysis to allow Russia to expand West both in territory and internal influence.
Bruxelles is one of the primary institutional faces of The Western Elite, and, in the end, Hungary cannot be bound to this, because the two are diametrically opposed to each other.
Who leaves who first, and why, are ancillary matters for the tabloids.
It was never, and will never be, in the cards that Central Europe could be happily married to The British State Department.
I wish it was that easy. Mouton.
But leaving the EU and NATO is difficult enough for Hungary to need decades long preparations.
For now.
We’ll come back to it after the Russofobia ruined the EU as a market, and we have a land-bridge to the Eastern markets.
It certainly is NOT going to be easy, Dear Márk, but, just like a very bad marriage, someone will leave.
The reality of it is that we are in a time in history where many institutions, and the financial/philosophical conclusions that built them, are going to crumble.
There is no way around this – if for no other reason than the abuse of trust, and resultant loss of respect, has destroyed, in the eyes of a majority of Westerners, what was built after 1945.
At best all we can do is go back to where we took a bad turn – perhaps 1914, and start over again.
This is why I voted for Trump, 3xs, because, no matter how problematic his execution of policy may be, he comprehends that things have gone awry, and, therefore we must turn back.
If we survive the next few years of rocky transition, things will begin to improve, but, in the end, this will be a decades long process – exactly as it has been for Russia to pull out of the failed Soviet experiment.
Mark alias Mouton 👎etc.😴😴😴😴
Was, ich hab’ gedacht wir sprechen Deutsch?!
Lieber Karl Marx.
😘
A load of crap as usual from DNH.
Good God, if only! Hungary would thrive like literally never before.
Just imagine not being fined ONE MILLION EUROCRAPS PER DAY for refusing to take in third-world rapists, robbers, and parasites!
But alas… They need Hungary much more than Hungary needs them. They know that another member leaving would just snowball and accelerate what is already a certain end.
The marriage of Central Europe to Western Europe is bad, My Dear Michael, and nothing will ever change that because the mentality of the peoples will always be different.
I have seen enough failed marriages in my time, plus having participated in them, to know that many unions are not such good ideas as they may seem at first.