BUDAPEST, Hungary — The Hungarian government should engage in “serious, urgent and good-faith talks” with Central European University about legal changes seen to be targeting the school founded by billionaire George Soros, a U.S. diplomat said Tuesday.
A bill signed Monday by President Janos Ader sets new conditions for foreign universities in Hungary, some of which seem aimed specifically at CEU. The law requires universities in Hungary also to have a campus in their home countries. While CEU is accredited in Hungary and in New York state, it does not have a U.S. campus.
“We’re very concerned about the legislation,” U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Hoyt Yee told The Associated Press. “The legislation targets Central European University and threatens the ability of the university, an important American-Hungarian institution, to continue operating in Hungary.”
The law also calls for bilateral agreements between Hungary and the home countries of universities from outside the European Union on how to manage the institutions.
Yee said “the United States does not engage in such agreements about … how universities are going to be run in foreign countries. This is a matter for the government of Hungary and CEU to work out.”
“We hope that the government of Hungary is going to engage in serious, urgent and good-faith talks with Central European University, as well as other affected institutions,” Yee said during a visit to Budapest Tuesday.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the issue had wider implications.
