EU to raise concerns after Vance's Hungary vote claims

The European Commission has said it would raise its concerns with the United States after US Vice-President JD Vance repeatedly accused European Union institutions of meddling in Hungary's election campaign.

Commission spokespeople alluded to Vance's claims of unprecedented EU interference in Hungary's elections, arguing that the real threat to free and fair voting is manipulation by social media platforms.

Vance was in Hungary for a two-day visit this week, ahead of the election on April 12, to drum up support for his ideological ally, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

On Tuesday, Vance criticized the EU, accusing "Brussels bureaucrats" of working against the Hungarian people.

Commission spokespeople on Wednesday repeatedly declined to address Vance's remarks directly, saying only that diplomatic channels would be used to "convey concerns".

They did, however, reject the substance of his claims, saying the EU is not meddling in Hungary's election and indicating where the real interference lies.

Speaking to reporters, the commission's technology spokesman Thomas Regnier said: "Who is silencing political voices? It's online platforms. Who is manipulating algorithms? Again, online platforms. Who is boosting the visibility of the preferred choice? Online platforms."

Foreign affairs spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said, "We have also our diplomatic channels and we will be using these also to convey our concerns to our US counterparts."

Pressed on the nature of those concerns, she replied that the EU was "not in the business of disclosing what we talk about with our partners".

The commission's deputy chief spokeswoman Arianna Podesta said: "We have appropriate channels, appropriate frameworks, diplomatic contacts (and) the joint statement. That is a framework in which we discuss matters of relevance with our partners. And that is where we will be bringing the discussions with the United States if they consider it something worthwhile pursuing with us."

Standing alongside Orban in Budapest on Tuesday, Vance said, "What has happened in the midst of this election campaign is one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I've ever seen or even read about."

He hit out at "the bureaucrats in Brussels, who have done everything that they can to hold down the people of Hungary, because they don't like the leader, who has actually stood up for the people of Hungary".

Hungary's opposition leader Peter Magyar criticized Vance's visit on X. "No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections," he wrote. "This is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow or Brussels — it is written in Hungary's streets and squares."