Romania’s former prime minister, Victor Ponta, expressed his enthusiasm for planned legislation in Hungary, which endangers the future of Central European University in Budapest. Mr. Ponta, a Member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, indicated that he intends to propose a similar law, in order to restrict the activities of foreign universities on Romanian soil. This may serve as a wake-up call for Hungarians who are supportive of the Orbán government and its hate campaign against George Soros, as two Transylvanian universities that would find their operations in jeopardy are both funded by Hungary. These include Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania based in three Transylvanian cities and the Partium Christian University, located in Nagyvárad (Oradea).
The Social Democratic Victor Ponta promised to begin working on legislation that largely emulates that which is planned in Budapest and he is committed to working out the details of his proposal and submitting this to the Chamber of Deputies within one week. While Mr. Ponta has been congratulatory of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s policies as of late (including the highly controversial expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant in southern Hungary, financed through Russian funds), some journalists in Romania see ulterior motives behind the most recent announcement. Romania’s public broadcaster pointed out that neither Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania nor Partium Christian University operate based on a bilateral agreement between the governments of Hungary and Romania. It is true that in contrast to the CEU’s battle with the Orbán government, Sapientia and Partium Christian University receive funding from, and are tied to another EU member state, while Central European University has its charter in the State of New York. Yet the similarities are striking: Sapientia was established in 2000 with the direct involvement of the Government of Hungary, led by a younger Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was serving his first term in power. At the time, the historic Hungarian churches of Tranylvania (Roman Catholic, Unitarian, Calvinist and Lutheran) established a foundation with the goal of launching a private, Hungarian-language university. This was only possible through on-going, renewable public funding from Hungary.
Sapientia’s campus in Marosvásárhely.
The university’s main source of funding still comes from Hungary, including more than 2.2 billion forints per year from the Hungarian state, to be used for operating expenses, as well as 1.7 billion forints for capital investments and development. Sapientia now has faculties in Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mureș), Kolozsvár (Cluj Napoca) and Csíkszereda (Miercurea Ciuc). Sapientia has an annual enrolment of over 2,200 students and employs 369 professors, and more recently complements its undergraduate focus with postgraduate courses.
In Nagyvárad, Partium Christian University, initially established as a small Calvinist college, received accreditation from the Romanian legislature in 2008, allowing the university to grant degrees in theology, cultural studies, German language and literature, as well as social work. According to a budget document from 2014, Partium Christian University receives public funding from Hungary, as well as support from the Romanian state.
Partium Christian University in Nagyvárad
On Sunday evening, thousands of students, researchers, teachers, other academics and activists will march from Corvinus University in Budapest to Parliament in Kossuth Square, in protest against the Orbán government’s attempts to legislate CEU out of existence. Those Hungarians who support the prime minister in his attack against the country’s most prestigious university should be careful what they wish for–some people in Romania are watching closely and are ready to follow the example.
