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The European Commission has concluded its internal investigation into Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, stating that no evidence of security breaches was found in connection with espionage allegations raised months ago.
"The Commission has concluded that no serious security breach can be identified in relation to the allegations made in the media ," European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari said on Friday.
According to him, the investigation lasted seven months and examined all relevant aspects of the case, although the Commission has not made public details on how the procedure was conducted.
The investigation was opened after media reports in October that a former Hungarian diplomat was suspected of trying to recruit European Union officials to spy on Budapest. At the time, the diplomat was working at the Hungarian mission to the EU in Brussels on cohesion policy issues, while Várhelyi was serving as Hungary's ambassador.
Belgian authorities have not opened a criminal investigation into the matter. Meanwhile, some progressive MEPs have called for Várhelyi's resignation, while the commissioner himself has repeatedly denied the allegations.
After the investigation's findings were published, German Green MEP Daniel Freund reacted with skepticism to the Commission's decision.
"I am surprised that the Commission has managed to give Várhelyi a clean bill of health in this regard. I would have waited a few more days until the new government in Hungary took office ," Freund declared.
Várhelyi's political position was also called into question after the victory of the center-right opposition leader, Péter Magyar, in Budapest. Várhelyi had been appointed European Commissioner for the second time by outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
However, Hungary's political allies in the European People's Party (EPP) have signaled support for continuing his term in his current post.
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