The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office takes the view that the Hungarian intelligence services did a good job in 2015.
János Lázár told journalists after he rendered an account of the activities of the Hungarian intelligence services last year together with István Pásztor, Director General of the Bureau of Intelligence before the closed meeting of the National Security Committee of Parliament held on Monday: the intelligence services did a good job in 2015, and gathered information which significantly increased the security of the country.
Most of the report was concerned with the 2015 „immigration and migration crisis”, and informed the Committee on how the intelligence bureau, in cooperation with other Hungarian secret services, was able to support the adoption of decisions by the Government and the legislature, he added.
Mr Lázár said: they are ready to inform the Committee of the progress made in respect of the Paks project, and they would therefore like to dedicate a separate meeting to this topic in the autumn.
He told the press: in answer to the question of the socialist Chair of the Committee, he said that, based on the information currently available to the intelligence services, the organisation of the European Football Championship does involve security risks. They are continuously liaising with the French secret services, and before the beginning of the European Football Championship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make available all the necessary information to those travelling to the event, Mr Lázár said.
He remarked: as a Member of Parliament, he has the impression that the American secret services appear to have a more clear-cut opinion on the security risks involved. „Perhaps, out of our positive bias towards football, these risks are seen in a somewhat different light in Europe”, he said. Mr Lázár pointed out: secret services throughout the world agree that the organisation of the European Football Champion conveys major security risks.