BRUSSELS — The European Commission has dismissed an interpreter hired by the European Union to attend major summits alongside world leaders over concerns of a potential security breach.

In a statement to POLITICO, the Commission said it had taken action over “an incident related to note-taking” during a European Council meeting attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Dec. 19, 2024.

The taking of written notes at sensitive sessions where issues like defense and security are discussed is prohibited under the Commission’s code of conduct. The rules were brought in as a response to fears of potential espionage and accidental transfer of information to hostile states like Russia.

“The notes were immediately confiscated,” the EU executive said. “After careful consideration of the facts, the Commission took appropriate measures to prevent this incident from recurring.

“In this particular case, it has been decided that the services of the interpreter in question will no longer be used in the future.”

The translator was a French-Ukrainian freelancer brought in to help leaders communicate with Zelenskyy, according to France’s Le Monde, which first reported the dismissal.

The newspaper said the investigation has now been handed over to Belgian authorities, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brussels has seen a series of espionage allegations investigated in recent years. In November, POLITICO obtained a missive sent to staff at the Commission that warned of a “real” threat from foreign agents.

“Brussels is one of the world’s biggest spy hubs, with hundreds of active intelligence officers who target our institution,” it said.

Last year, the European Parliament sanctioned former Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka after a series of media exposés in which she was reported to have been working for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the Soviet-era KGB.