Hungary’s loyalty issue could impact information sharing within NATO

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Hungary on Wednesday to discuss the contentious issues between Hungary and NATO with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. However, Hungary’s loyalty to the alliance remains in question.

According to Telex, a Czech source familiar with Stoltenberg’s agenda told VSquare that two key topics were on the table during the Secretary General’s visit. One was the lifting of Hungary’s “firm veto” on former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s bid for NATO Secretary General. The other was ensuring that Orbán would not block the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s latest Ukraine aid package, set to be agreed upon at the alliance summit in Washington, DC, in July.

Nato members may not share sensitive information with Hungary

Behind the scenes, doubts about the Hungarian leadership’s allegiance have long led to restrictions on sharing information, particularly intelligence, with other NATO members. A NATO official in Brussels told VSquare that this means Hungary is receiving less information from its allies bilaterally. Additionally, less information is being shared between member states through central NATO channels because of Hungary.

“The problem is that the consequences are felt by all, as members share less sensitive intelligence information through the central channels of the alliance, knowing that Hungary is among the recipients,”

said the official, who spoke anonymously.

The source also stated that, instead of the previous practice, intelligence information is now shared in other groups where Hungary is not present. Hungarian officials are mostly unaware of these groups and that they are not invited. Moreover, it is not only military-related information that is being withheld.

“Even if we trust their senior intelligence officers, ultimately, if we share information with them, it may end up in reports that reach the desk of Orbán. Our problem is with the political leadership of the country,” said the former deputy head of the civilian intelligence agency of an EU country, explaining the practice of excluding the Hungarian side. VSquare’s Slovak partner, the Ján Kuciak Investigative Centre, has reported that allies have also restricted intelligence sharing with Slovakia since Robert Fico’s government came back to power last year.

As we previously reported, Viktor Orbán promised at a post-meeting press conference that Hungary would not block decisions on Ukraine supported by all other member states.

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