How Orbán helps Russian spies to enter EU

In response, Russians are devising new methods to infiltrate agents into the West and are resorting to organizing sabotage through citizens of other countries, often non-professionals, as detailed by Bellingcat investigative journalist Christo Grozev.

Speaking specifically about Russian spies, some work in embassies, consulates, and representative offices of Russian state and commercial companies. Others are even posing as fashionable chefs, like Kirill Gryaznov, who was reportedly tasked with disrupting the Olympics in Paris.

Some spies operate in Europe under the guise of "good Russians." For instance, Igor Rogov, a former employee of the allegedly Kremlin-opposed Open Russia organization, was recently detained in Warsaw on suspicion of espionage.

But this is not enough for the Kremlin. This is likely why some "good Russians" have recently urged the EU to relax migration rules for Russian citizens. This could allow up to three million additional Russians, who have never even publicly opposed Putin, to enter the EU.

I discussed this issue in detail in my column, "Trojan horse for European Union."

When this idea failed, the Kremlin found an ally within the EU, which then opened the gates of the European fortress to Russian agents. On July 5, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

By July 9, Hungary began issuing "national cards" to applicants from Russia and Belarus. This system expedites visa processing, enabling citizens to enter Hungary without security checks. This information only became widely known at the end of July.

That is, for more than a month now, citizens of a country whose leader is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague and which is waging an aggressive, genocidal war against its neighbor have been able to obtain Schengen visas through a simplified procedure and without additional security checks.

Only 67 out of 720 MEPs are outraged by this situation. This is the number of MEPs calling for Hungary to be expelled from Schengen due to its simplified entry procedure for Russians.

Currently, the only effective way to combat the influx of Russian agents through the Hungarian loophole seems to be additional, thorough vetting by the intelligence agencies of other EU countries.

However, identifying these agents is not enough; they also need to be neutralized. European rules are not perfect in this regard. As long as an agent remains dormant and does not violate any laws, it is impossible to deport or arrest them. By the time these agents start operating actively and in a coordinated manner, it may be too late to take action.

Source

About the author. Andriy Yanitsky, journalist.

The editors do not always share the views expressed by the authors of the blogs.