Tusk says Poland long suspected Hungary shared EU Council details with Russia

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, file)

Poland’s prime minister Sunday said Poland “had our suspicions” in response to a Washington Post report that Hungary’s government has for years provided Russia with detailed information from EU Council meetings.

The Post, citing several current and former European security officials, found that the Hungarian government under Viktor Orbán has long offered Moscow access to sensitive discussions within the European Union.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó regularly calls during breaks in EU council meetings to provide his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, with “direct reports on what was discussed” and possible solutions, according to the Post report.

“The news that Orbán’s people inform Moscow about EU Council meetings in every detail shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone,” Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X. “We’ve had our suspicions about that for a long time. That’s one reason why I take the floor only when strictly necessary and say just as much as necessary.”

Szijjártó on X called Tusk’s comments “fake news.”

“Fake news as always. You are telling lies in order to support Tisza Party to have a pro-war puppet government in Hungary. You will not have it!”

Tisza is Hungary’s main opposition party that is currently ahead in the polls three weeks before parliamentary elections. Relations between Poland and Hungary have been tense over Budapest’s blocking of EU aid to Ukraine and its close ties to Russia.

The Associated Press