08 May, 2017
People light with their mobile phones as they protest against the bill that would undermine Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, April 9, 2017. The Soros-backed Central European University in Budapest has said the new law is aimed at closing it down as part of a plan to discourage liberal thought.
Under proposals by the Orbán government, CEU would not be able to issue US-accredited degrees, would need to open a NY campus, change its name and end an agreement whereby non-European Union staff do not need a work permit.
The Hungarian government's Higher Education Act would mean the CEU in Budapest would be unable to award diplomas because it is registered in the US.
Many MEPs took the view that the new education law is an attack on academic freedom and NGOs are being targeted to suppress critical voices. The regular period that is given to a member state to reply to a letter of formal notice is two months.
The Commission issued its own version of the consultation earlier this week to dispell the Hungarian government's statements in the questionnaires that it sent to Hungarian households.
Claire Gordon, head of the London School of Economics Teaching and Learning Center and an expert on the European Union role in eastern Europe, says Brussels appears to have run out of patience with Hungary.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban is staunchly anti-migration and says Hungary doesn't want to solve its demographic crisis and increasingly acute labor shortage with migrants.
"The only thing the Central European University is asking is to be left alone, to do what it does well", he said. Orban says that issuing a US degree without having a USA campus gives CEU an unfair advantage over other domestic universities. During debate Wednesday at the European Parliament, he denied targeting the CEU.
"Prime Minister Orban committed himself in the EPP council to follow and implement all the demands of the European Commission within the deadline set by the Commission", Siegfried Muresan, EPP spokesman, told reporters after Orban was grilled by fellow party leaders.
The EPP also said NGOs represented civil society and must be respected, but the party has not called for the withdrawal of a planned law in Hungary that would label NGOs which receive funding from outside Hungary as "foregin funded".
The Hungarian government has one month to respond, and based on Budapest's reaction, the European Commission will consider what steps to take next. Protesters say they will stay on the streets until the university's future is safe.
