{"id":197309,"date":"2026-04-16T12:15:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=197309"},"modified":"2026-04-16T12:15:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:15:24","slug":"herstellen-van-autonomie-van-hongaarse-universiteiten-topprioriteit-voor-magyar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/04\/16\/herstellen-van-autonomie-van-hongaarse-universiteiten-topprioriteit-voor-magyar\/","title":{"rendered":"Autonomy of Hungarian universities is top priority for Magyar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Restoring the independence of higher education is a top priority, P\u00e9ter Magyar said in an interview on Wednesday. The winner of the Hungarian elections named the autonomy of universities as one of four matters that must be resolved before the EU releases the frozen funds to Hungary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The likely successor of Viktor Orb\u00e1n gave an interview to the state TV and radio for the first time in one and a half year. He accused the presenters of having spread propaganda and lies for years on behalf of Viktor Orb\u00e1n’s regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Viktor Orb\u00e1n the Hungarian rule of law was put under such pressure that the European Union drew a line in December 2022. It decided to freeze billions in EU contributions to the country. Hungary first had to take serious steps to tackle corruption and strengthen the rule of law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is precisely with that promise that the Hungarian opposition party Tisza has now won the elections. Incoming prime minister P\u00e9ter Magyar may gain a two-thirds majority in parliament, which would even allow him to undo Orb\u00e1n’s interventions in higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanctions against universities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That is good news for the country’s higher education institutions. Since 2022 twenty-one Hungarian universities have not received any EU money. They cannot apply for Horizon research grants or receive funds for exchanges via Erasmus+.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is partly the result of a new system Orb\u00e1n introduced in 2019. He privatised the universities and put his political cronies on the boards. Since then they have decided where the money goes and made the key appointments. Exactly the kind of cronyism that triggered the European Commission in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the possibility of a two-thirds majority for Magyar, the Hungarian political scientist Mikl\u00f3s S\u00fck\u00f6sd also began to ask himself: can the independence of universities be restored? Can they once again become public, autonomous institutions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\u00fck\u00f6sd is affiliated with the University of Copenhagen. He is in Hungary to follow the course of the elections and has recently written about Magyar’s rise. But about his plans for the universities? “If you want to breathe new life into democracy, making universities independent is part of that. But I have followed these elections closely and in my view Magyar has said nothing about it”, he said before Magyar gave the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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Een lijst met artikelen<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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