Hungary’s Crackdown on Soros-Linked Schools Ruled Illegal by EU Top Court
- Ruling focuses renewed attention on rule of law in Hungary
- Orban trying to torpedo EU plan to step up democracy scrutiny
Photographer: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
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Hungary’s crackdown on foreign-funded colleges, such as the George Soros-linked Central European University, was overturned by the European Union’s top court in a ruling that refocused attention on the erosion of the rule of law under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The judgment returns Hungary to the spotlight at a time when the EU is considering cutting funding to member states found to be flouting the rule of law. Orban, who is among the leaders trying to torpedo the effort, initially threatened to scupper the bloc’s 750 billion euro ($883 billion) coronavirus fund before offering last week to forgo billions of euros to escape further EU scrutiny.