Concessions made so far by Hungary to satisfy EU conditions for allowing foundation-run universities to accede to student and researcher exchange programmes, seem to have been found unsatisfactory in Brussels. Columnists express diametrically opposing views on the matter. READ MORE
Liberal commentators and an independent conservative columnist agree with the European Commission that the new university system does not meet rule of law criteria. Pro-government columnists dismiss the suggestion and accuse the EU of using double standards again to punish Hungary. READ MORE
While Cabinet Minister Tibor Navracsics asks the European Commission what Hungary should do to reopen the Erasmus programme to its foundation-run universities, pro-government commentators find the approach of the EC politically motivated. READ MORE
A pro-government columnist suspects political reasons behind the move by the European Commission, while a left-wing commentator accuses the government of being responsible for closing Europe’s doors to thousands of Hungarian students. READ MORE
A conservative professor takes up the defence of the recent changes in the structure of Hungarian higher education, against opposition critics. The latter accuse the government of entrusting university education to its own people, while the professor sees the changes as a reform long overdue. READ MORE
Opposition-leaning commentators condemn in unison new legislation which places those state-owned universities that opt in, under the control of foundations under the ideological control of the government. READ MORE
An analyst dismisses political misgivings about the plan to establish a Chinese university in the Hungarian capital but questions the financial sustainability of the project. READ MORE
Opinions diverge sharply on the plan to open a Chinese university campus in Budapest in 2024. This will be the first campus the Shanghai-based Fudan University opens abroad. The Hungarian government plans to fund the project from Chinese loans. READ MORE
As the government proposes to cancel the accreditation of gender studies university degree programs, left-wing and liberal pundits accuse it of ideologically driven interference in higher education. Conservative commentators are divided on the proposed ban. READ MORE
As Parliament turned into law the amendments to the higher education act on Tuesday, a conservative columnist suspects that the government’s ideologically motivated attack on CEU may easily backfire. Pro-government sources describe the opposition to the law as pure hysteria. READ MORE