A Parliament spokesperson said that “all necessary preventive and reactive measures are in place to ensure the security and safety of MEPs and [European Parliament] staff during official missions.” Both lawmakers and officials have been given “briefings, training and assistance regarding security,” they added.
The European Parliament has used burner phones and security pouches to protect devices like mobile phones before, including on a trip to Hungary last year, POLITICO first reported.
Other European Union institutions have beefed up their protections against cyberespionage, too. One senior official, granted anonymity to disclose details about security policy, told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook that the Council of the EU had guidelines stating that “no electronics are taken to the U.S. or China … When this is not possible, the electronics that are brought back must be wiped.”
Commission officials heading to the United States have also been issued burner phones and basic laptops to avoid espionage risks, the Financial Times reported last year.