By Staff, Agencies

A member of the European Parliament [MEP] has filed a criminal complaint against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, alleging that Budapest attempted to spy on him through the use of sophisticated spyware.

Daniel Freund, a German lawmaker from the Green Party, claimed on Wednesday that hackers tried to infiltrate his devices in May 2024, asserting that “Hungary is the only plausible actor in this scenario.” Freund wrote on X that, if proven true, the alleged hacking attempt would represent “an outrageous attack on the European Parliament.”

Freund, joined by the German nonprofit Society for Civil Rights [GFF], submitted the complaint to the prosecutor’s office in Krefeld, as well as cybercrime units in Cologne and Dusseldorf, urging them to open an investigation against Orban and another unnamed individual.

According to Politico Europe, the complaint alleges that an email sent to Freund’s parliamentary address—purportedly from a “Ukrainian student”—contained embedded spyware. “According to the EU Parliament’s IT experts, the Hungarian government could be behind the eavesdropping on me,” Freund said.

The German MEP is a longtime critic of Hungary’s conservative leadership, often accusing Orban of undermining democracy, silencing dissent, and enabling systemic corruption within the EU.

For his part, Prime Minister Orban has dismissed such accusations, frequently describing “the bureaucrats in Brussels” as warmongers bent on eroding Hungary’s sovereignty. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs has previously clashed with Freund online, calling him a “clown” and a “madman.”

The case, if pursued by German authorities, could mark a new escalation in the already strained relationship between Budapest and Brussels, deepening divisions within the European Union over surveillance, sovereignty, and the rule of law.