The translator was a French-Ukrainian freelancer who was brought in to help the leaders communicate with Zelensky.
The European Commission has fired a translator who was invited to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the European Council over concerns about a potential security breach.
Politico reports this.
The European Commission said it had taken action following a “note-taking incident” during a European Council meeting attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on 19 December 2024.
According to the Commission's code of conduct, taking written notes is prohibited during sensitive meetings where issues such as defence and security are discussed.
These rules were introduced in response to concerns about potential espionage and accidental transmission of information to hostile states such as Russia.
“The notes were immediately confiscated. Following a thorough analysis of the facts, the Commission took appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence of this incident. In this particular case, it was decided that the services of the interpreter in question would no longer be used in the future,” the EU executive said.
According to Le Monde, the translator was a French-Ukrainian freelancer who was invited to help the leaders communicate with Zelensky.
The French newspaper said the investigation had been entrusted to Belgian authorities, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As early as November 2024, Politico received a memo sent to Commission staff warning of a “real” threat from foreign agents.
“Brussels is one of the world's largest espionage centers, with hundreds of active intelligence agents targeting our institution,” the letter said.
Let us recall that on the eve of the aforementioned EU summit in December 2024, the well-known Ukrainian journalist, editor of the European Truth, Serhiy Sidorenko, was detained by the police in Brussels on suspicion of preparing an explosion.
