European Court rules against Hungary over CEU

In a first analysis of the verdict, a legal expert thinks the European Court of Justice departed from its own traditions when ruling that the 2017 amendment to the Higher Education Act violated European law.

CEU’s last graduation ceremony in Budapest

As the Central European University bids farewell to Hungary, right-wing commentators liken ideas expressed by CEU representatives  to colonialist and even Nazi and Communist thinking. They consider CEU’s departure as ‘good riddance’. A Marxist philosopher charges the government with the imposition of ideological absolutism.

Case CEU – how important is it?

Left wing commentators consider the departure of the US-accredited degree modules of the Central European University a major defeat for democracy. A conservative analyst remarks that the West does not seem too concerned.

CEU moves 4 courses out of 5 to Vienna

After the President of the Central European University announced that 49 of the CEU’s 59 courses will be transferred to Vienna, the debate continues in the press on whether the government’s refusal to let them stay serves or harms Hungary’s interests.

CEU moves US degrees to Vienna

A leftist commentator accuses the government of trying to annihilate those intellectuals whose opinions differ from its own. A pro-government columnist, on the other hand believes that the kind of open society the Central University advocates has no place in Hungary.

CEU sets 1 December deadline

The Central European University is preparing to transfer most of its courses to Vienna, but has given the government 36 days to sign an agreement which would keep the Soros-founded University in Budapest. A pro-government columnist dismisses the announcement as ‘an advertisement aimed at recruiting students.’

Constitutional Court postpones discussion of ‘lex CEU’ and ‘NGO’ bills

A liberal and a pro-government pundit lambast the Constitutional Court for not discussing the constitutionality of the so-called ‘lex CEU’ and the anti-NGO legislation.

CEU controversy rolls on

As the State Department urges Hungary to suspend the implementation of the new Higher Education Act, commentators disagree sharply on what lies behind the controversy within Hungary and internationally.

Pro-CEU Demonstration in Budapest

The main pro-government outlet condemns Sunday’s mass demonstration in Budapest as a move inspired by the ‘Soros empire against the government’, while a leading left-wing commentator thinks that, over and beyond the future of CEU, what is at stake is Hungary’s membership of the European Union.

The debate over CEU rolls on

As a new wave of actors in the EU and the US join the dispute over CEU’s future, commentators along the political spectrum ponder the motivations of the parties involved and opinions diverge on whether the university will close down.