George Soros’s graduate school says it is being forced out of Hungary
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – The Central European University, founded by George Soros, said on Monday it had been forced out of Hungary in “an arbitrary eviction” that violated academic freedom, and it confirmed plans to enroll new students in neighboring Austria next year.
CEU’s statement is the culmination of a years-long struggle between Hungarian-born but US-based Soros, who promotes liberal causes through his charities, and the nationalist, anti-immigrant government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
For nearly three decades CEU has been a gateway to the West for thousands of students from ex-communist eastern Europe, offering US-accredited degree programs in an academic climate that celebrates free thought.
The university said it would leave Budapest if it had not secured guarantees of academic freedom by December 1.
“CEU has been forced out,” said CEU president and rector Michael Ignatieff in a statement. “This is unprecedented. A US institution has been driven out of a country that is a NATO ally. A European institution has been ousted from a member state of the EU.”
“Arbitrary eviction of a reputable university is a flagrant violation of academic freedom. It is a dark day for Europe and a dark day for Hungary,” the statement added.
Ignatieff told a news conference later that the CEU had received a “clear and unequivocal” welcome in Austria.
The United States said it was “disappointed” that CEU was unable to remain in Hungary.
“The departure of these US-accredited programs from Hungary will be a loss for the CEU community, for the United States, and for Hungary,” said Heather Nauert, spokesperson for the State Department.
CEU’s legal status has been in limbo for more than a year since changes to a higher education law that meant a foreign-registered university could no longer operate in Hungary unless it also provided courses in its home country.
Orban’s critics say the legal changes deliberately targeted CEU, which is regularly ranked as the top university in Hungary. Orban accuses Soros of encouraging mass immigration into Europe, a charge the philanthropist denies.
The European Commission has taken Hungary to court over the higher education law and has clashed with Orban over other issues related to the rule of law and democratic standards.
Earlier this year, Open Society Foundations, Soros’s main funding network, was also forced to leave Hungary.
Hungary’s government has dismissed the university’s move as a “Soros-style bluff.”
CEU said it would start enrolling students for US degrees at its new campus in Vienna for the next academic year. Students already enrolled will complete their studies in Budapest.