Orban Offers to Loosen Control of Universities After EU Pressure
- Move comes as EU excluded nation from flagship Erasmus program
- Erasmus cutoff ‘unacceptable and intolerable,’ Minister says
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Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government signaled readiness to compromise after the European Union shut most Hungarian universities out of the bloc’s flagship Erasmus scholarship program and academic funding.
Hungary is prepared to loosen political control over universities overseen by so-called public trusts set by Orban in 2021, which critics say are aimed at exerting political control over the education system. Orban’s political allies, including most of his ministers, have filled top positions in the trusts, which involve controlling spending and potential lifelong terms.