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Hungarian spy network exposed in Brussels
Hungarian intelligence services spent much of the 2010s running a spy network in Brussels, attempting to recruit Hungarian nationals working inside EU institutions, according to an investigation by Direkt36. Operating under diplomatic cover at Hungary’s Permanent Representation to the EU, officers from the Information Office (IH) sought information and influence within the European Commission, often appealing to patriotic duty or offering funding and career advancement. Their operations, directed from Budapest and supervised by then-minister János Lázár, targeted areas sensitive to the Orbán government, including rule-of-law disputes, media freedom, and fiscal policy. Sources described how diplomats “recklessly” approached Hungarian EU staff for recruitment, with one officer even asking a Commission employee to sign a collaboration paper. The exposure of V., the IH’s residentura chief in Brussels, triggered the collapse of the entire Hungarian network in 2017.
The investigation also reveals that the operation took place while Olivér Várhelyi, now an EU Commissioner, served as Hungary’s ambassador to the EU. There is no evidence he directly participated; however, sources say he was aware intelligence officers operated under him and benefited from their reports. Belgian counterintelligence has since monitored Hungarian activities closely. Belgium still officially treats Hungary as a “cooperative” ally, but sources told De Tijd that, in practice, they are now viewed as “purple country”, a classification that means growing concerns about Hungary's loyalty. The investigation found that Hungarian intelligence’s influence operations extended to attempts to infiltrate EU security units and leak internal documents, exploiting the EU’s assumption that member states’ institutions are inherently trustworthy. The EU Commission launched an investigation into the case.
Hungarian novelist won the Nobel Prize in literature
Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai has been awarded the 2025 Nobel prize in literature for “his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Thursday. Born in 1954, Krasznahorkai published his first work in 1977 in the Budapest magazine Mozgó Világ. A frequent collaborator of film director Béla Tarr, he has worked as a freelance writer since 1982 and spent periods living in Germany, France, Italy, Greece, and the United States. His novels The Melancholy of Resistance and Seiobo There Below have earned him international acclaim, with critics such as Susan Sontag calling him “the contemporary Hungarian master of apocalypse” and W.G. Sebald praising the universality of his vision. Over his career, Krasznahorkai has received numerous awards, including the International Booker Prize, the Brücke Berlin Prize, and the Austrian State Prize.
Following the announcement, Krasznahorkai wrote on X: “I thank Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for his congratulations. But I will always oppose his political actions and ideas. I remain a free writer.” The author, whose works have been adapted into films such as Sátántangó, is the second Hungarian to win the Nobel Prize in literature, after Imre Kertész in 2002. The award, which carries a prize of 11 million Swedish krona ($1,16 million), will be formally presented in Stockholm on December 10.
Orban to Zelensky: "No country has ever blackmailed its way into the EU. That is not going to happen"
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has called out Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president said his country’s EU membership was inevitable “with or without" Orbán. In a Facebook post, Orbán wrote: “Hungary is under no moral obligation to support Ukraine's accession to the EU. No country has ever blackmailed its way into the European Union, and it is not going to happen now either.” Responding to Zelensky’s remarks in Kyiv, the Hungarian PM accused him of using “his well-known tactic: he’s trying to blackmail a country into supporting his war efforts.”
Orbán added that the EU Treaty “clearly states that membership is decided by the member states, unanimously,” claiming that Hungarians had already rejected Ukraine’s bid in the VOKS 2025 referendum organised by his government – though the poll is not legally binding. “If President Zelensky wishes to change this, launching a media campaign against Hungary is probably not the best way to make friends,” he wrote. Later the same day, Fidesz’s communications director, Tamás Menczer, echoed the criticism, posting: “Show more respect for Hungarians, President Zelensky! … Contrary to Zelensky’s statement, what Hungarians say does, in fact, matter.”
High-ranking government official was caught shoplifting
A high-ranking Hungarian government official was caught shoplifting at a Lidl store in Balassagyarmat about a month ago, 444 reports. Since the value of the theft exceeded the 50,000 forint ($148) threshold, criminal proceedings were initiated in the case.
Last week, the county prosecutor's office did not deny that the suspect in the criminal case is a high-ranking government official who heads a district office. They also stated that after the investigation was closed, the local police station proposed to the district prosecutor's office that the proceedings be terminated.
According to the county prosecutor's office, the person concerned admitted to the offense and requested that the case be referred to mediation, which could result in the termination of criminal liability. The request was rejected due to the minor legal consequences of the crime committed, and the proceedings were not suspended.