On 10 April, Hungarian President János Áder signed into law an amendment to the National Higher Education Law that would outlaw the Central European University (CEU). Although portrayed by the government as a purely administrative step, the “Lex-CEU” law is a strident attempt to curtail academic freedom and limit the independence of academic institutions. Accredited in both the United States […]
Years ago George Schöpflin applied for a position at the Central European University (CEU) and was rejected. He didn’t get the job, and now he is attacking CEU by claiming that the university is illegitimate because it issues American diplomas without “American academic oversight.” 77 year old George (György) Schöpflin is a confidante of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and […]
Isabelle Poupart, Canada’s ambassador to Hungary, issued what was perhaps the most unequivocal statement yet from the Government of Canada on the Orbán regime’s attacks against academic freedom and its on-going attempt to shut down Central European University. The Budapest regime’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, summoned Ambassador Poupart, asserting that the Canadian diplomat made “false accusations” and adding […]
Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) expressed its serious concerns about the state of democracy in Hungary in a comment provided to the Hungarian Free Press. The comment was made by Hélène Laverdière, the NDP’s Critic for Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for the riding of Laurier – Sainte-Marie. HFP asked Ms. Laverdière to comment on the many rule of […]
The European People’s Party, which is rapidly losing its remaining credibility, is getting a first-hand taste of how Prime Minister Viktor Orbán operates. After the EPP published a strongly worded statement Saturday morning, in which it claimed that the EPP presidium “asked Fidesz and the Hungarian authorities to take all necessary steps to comply with the Commission’s request” about amending […]
Hungary intends to adhere to every request made by the European Commission, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán confirmed on Saturday, in what was a reportedly heated, tense meeting with the European People’s Party, of which Fidesz is a member. The EPP had reportedly raised the possibility of suspending Fidesz membership in the conservative parliamentary group if Mr. Orbán does not amend […]
The Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and Jobbik have both seen their support rise, while Fidesz dipped slightly in the newest Republikon poll. While the series of mass protests, the contentious anti-CEU legislation and Jobbik’s billboard campaign against Fidesz corruption have resulted in a modest boost in popular support for the two largest opposition parties, all of these events have had […]
The University of California at Berkeley held a panel discussion this week about the situation at the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest. The panel guests were István Rév, the Director the Open Society Archive at CEU, who is currently a visiting professor of History at UC Berkeley, and Gábor Klaniczay, a Professor of Medieval History at CEU. The moderator […]
“This situation is like when someone is accused of murder, he is convicted, yet the murder victim is alive and is pointing his finger at the accused all along,” said a belligerent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during the European Parliament’s special session on Hungary. Mr. Orbán was referring to what the Hungarian leader claims are false accusations leveled against his […]
If students at Budapest’s Ágoston Trefort Secondary School are representative of a new, young generation of educated Hungarians, then that would be very positive news indeed for the future of Hungary. We know, of course, that Trefort is an elite secondary school–almost exclusively for students seeking to attend university. President János Áder visited Trefort to give a talk about environmental issues […]
