Orban under fire as George Soros refuses to close his Budapest university
HUNGARY’S Central European University (CEU), which was founded by the Hungarian-American investor George Soros, said it would continue to recruit students in Budapest as it demanded Viktor Orban’s government recognise it complies with Hungarian law.
The university has been accused of not operating within the law by the right-wing Hungarian government.
CEU, which was founded in 1991, aims to create an “open society” and has become a target for anti-immigrant Orban.
They came into trouble when a change in education law made it illegal to operate from foreign-registered universities that do not offer course in their home country.
This comes after Orban has warned against the influence of Soros and described him as a “dangerous financial speculator”, claiming he is a risk for Hungarian national security.
The Hungarian government has repeatedly said that once we fulfil the conditions of the new law, we will be fairly treated
His government regularly vilifies Soros and accused him of acting against Europe's best interests by supporting the accommodation large numbers of migrants arriving on European soil.
The new regulations are seen to unfairly target the university because of its ties to Soros.
CEU's board chairman, Leon Botstein, who is also president of New York's Bard College, said: "The Hungarian government has repeatedly said that once we fulfil the conditions of the new law, we will be fairly treated and that CEU will be able to operate in Hungary. Now is the time for Hungary to follow through on these commitments."
There have been protests on the streets of Hungary at the prospect of the university being driven out of the country.
Canadian Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff said in the statement: “CEU is delighted by this clear statement of commitment by the Board to CEU, to Budapest and to the defence of academic freedom”.
The university has said that if they are forced to leave Budapest, the university will move to Austria and students will be recruited from September 2019.
In a bid to satisfy the requirement, in September 2017 CEU signed a memorandum of understanding with New York State’s Bard College, to establish a base there.
CEU has around 1,500 students and teaches subjects including social sciences, law, management and maths.
The European Parliament is scheduled to vote in September on whether to recommend a procedure against Hungary to suspend its voting rights in the EU.