Magyar, who presently leads Orbán in polls ahead of April’s parliamentary election, stated in a Facebook post: “Olivér Várhelyi, the current EU Commissioner and former EU Ambassador (and my former boss), did not fully disclose the truth when he denied this during the recent official investigation.”
Várhelyi was Hungary’s ambassador to the EU from 2015 to 2019, having previously served as deputy ambassador from 2011. Magyar was part of the Brussels permanent representation office from 2011 to 2015.
POLITICO reached out to several of Várhelyi’s team members about Magyar’s claims but received no reply.
Magyar also implicated Hungarian government minister János Lázár in his Facebook post, mentioning it was “known” that secret service agents were sent to Brussels during Lázár’s tenure overseeing EU affairs from 2012 to 2018.
Lázár did not comment on Magyar’s post but was quoted in the Hungarian media as saying: “I don’t recall the specifics—my memory isn’t great—but it is my responsibility to safeguard my country.”
“If Hungarian intelligence was deployed to Brussels, I would commend them, not criticize them,” he said, adding: “Their duty is to defend the nation’s interests… Their role is to ensure the country’s independence.”
Csongor Körömi contributed reporting.
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