The use of spyware was illegal in Hungary, and observers see clear signs of abuse when programs like Pegasus and similar tools are used to monitor dissidents and journalists. This was the assessment shared by a delegation from the European Parliament in Budapest on Tuesday. The group stressed that the evidence points to improper use and called for accountability.
According to the delegation leader, MEP Jeroen Lenaers, there are indications of abuses by spy programs. He noted that the Hungarian Minister of Justice, Judit Varga, declined to cooperate with the European Parliament’s investigation commission, a response that Lenaers described as unsatisfactory from the perspective of press and public accountability.
The PEGA commission, charged with examining the European Union’s use of Pegasus and other similar products within member states, conducted interviews in Hungary for two days as part of its broader inquiry. The delegation’s visit sought to understand whether governments across the union employed such tools against journalists, activists, or political opponents.
Back in July 2021, independent media outlets reported that Pegasus had been used by various European governments against journalists, activists, and other figures. Direct information from the Hungarian investigative portal Direkt36 indicated that the Orbán administration could have used Pegasus against hundreds of people, spanning journalists, opposition politicians, activists, and business figures.
The European Parliament delegation did not receive a justification for spyware use from Hungarian officials. Lenaers warned that the deployments appeared to target journalists, politicians, activists, and business leaders alike. He noted that officials claimed the tools were required for national security, but he dismissed this as a credible justification and promised that the commission would publish a report with concrete proposals in the months ahead.
Sophia In ’t Veld, another Dutch member of parliament, argued that the illicit use of these programs threatens democratic processes. The absence of formal charges tied to security crimes is interpreted as evidence by some that the scope and legitimacy of these programs have been overstated or misapplied in practice.
One of the delegation’s key observations was that while some officials claimed the issue fell outside their competence, the matter actually concerns the entire European Union because of its shared values and common frameworks for privacy and civil liberties.
During the visit, the delegation also visited Greece, Cyprus, and Poland, with a plan to travel to Spain within about a month. Judit Varga stated on Monday that the commission’s mission was a political maneuver and a pursuit of the European left, asserting that the inquiry serves partisan purposes rather than legitimate scrutiny, and thus her ministry would not cooperate further.
The meeting underscores a broader EU debate over the balance between national security and individual rights, particularly within the digital surveillance landscape. Questions remain about how widely spyware has been deployed, who was targeted, and what safeguards exist to prevent abuse. The European Parliament’s PEGA investigation continues to seek clarity and accountability, aiming to establish policy recommendations that safeguard press freedom and democratic norms across member states.