Hungary broke the law when it forced out university founded by George Soros, rules ECJ

Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary. 

Credit: Reuters

The European Union’s highest court ruled Tuesday that changes by Hungary to its law on higher education which effectively forced a university founded by George Soros to leave the country were not in line with EU law.

The European Court of Justice ruled against Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, saying in the ruling that "the conditions introduced by Hungary to enable foreign higher education institutions to carry out their activities in its territory are incompatible with EU law."

Among the changes, Hungary tied the operation of foreign universities in Hungary to a bilateral agreement between the Hungarian government and the universities’ country of origin. Foreign universities were also compelled to carry out educational activities in their home countries.

The court ruled that by imposing such conditions, "Hungary has failed to comply with the commitments" under the framework of the World Trade Organisation and acted in contravention of the provisions of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Under such a ruling, the member state is legally forced to immediately comply with the Court’s judgment, and if it refuses, the EU Commission can seek to fine it.

At the heart of the conflict is the fate of Central European University, established in New York state by Soros, a Hungarian-American financier. Under pressure from Orban, it had to relocate most of its main activities to Vienna from Budapest, where it had been operating since the early 1990s.

Orban has been a vocal critic of Soros for years, arguing that the billionaire philanthropist is intent on undermining European values with his liberal views on migration, claims Soros has denied. Orban’s ideological aim of creating an "illiberal state" is also in contrast with Soros’ ideal of an "open society."

In light of his views on Soros, the amendments to the academic rules were widely seen as targeting CEU. The EU Commission launched an infringement procedure in April 2017 against Hungary in the wake of the changes. It subsequently referred Hungary to the Court of Justice in December 2017.

The European Parliament’s top official dealing with Hungary welcomed the ruling. Greens MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield said the ruling from the Luxembourg-based court "ruled on what should be clear in any European democracy: that measures to limit academic freedom are incompatible with EU law. Forcing out a university is undemocratic, it goes against European values and now it’s been ruled as illegal."

She added that it "should send a warning to Viktor Orban that it’s time to step back from the brink of autocracy and reverse the Hungarian government’s undemocratic path."

The Hungarian government did not immediately react.