Soros-founded university set to leave Hungary

The Central European University will move its degree programs to Vienna in the next academic year if no deal is reached on its future with the Hungarian government by December 1, the Budapest-based institution said Thursday.

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Legislation passed in 2017 introduced new criteria for the university, which was founded by American-Hungarian businessman George Soros and issues both American and Hungarian degrees, to be able to continue operating.

But while the Central European University has now fulfilled all of the new law’s demands, the Hungarian government — which has run a public campaign against Soros — has for months declined to sign off on paperwork for the university to remain in Hungary.

“We’re being forced out of a country that’s been our home for 26 years,” the university’s president, Michael Ignatieff, told reporters in Budapest.

Ignatieff said a few weeks ago, the Hungarian government informed the U.S. Embassy that it will not be approving a deal.

“We want to stay here,” he said, adding that the university’s decision to move to Vienna will come into effect on December 1 in order to give the U.S. ambassador to Hungary, David Cornstein, “one last chance” to try to find a solution.

The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has faced an EU infringement proceeding over the law, as well as heavy criticism from the European People’s Party, to which it belongs.

Nicknamed “Lex CEU,” the legislation sparked some of the largest anti-government street protests of the Orbán era and raised concerns across the ideological spectrum in Washington, with Ambassador Cornstein, who was appointed by Donald Trump, advocating for a deal that would allow the university to stay in Hungary.

In a statement Thursday, Cornstein said “CEU remains a priority for the U.S. Government and has overwhelming bipartisan support in the United States. I understand CEU’s position — prolonged uncertainty is not sustainable for an academic institution. However, a solution is still possible. There is a small window to resolve this, but it needs to happen fast.”

If no deal is reached, incoming students will start their degree programs in Vienna, while those already working on their degrees will be able to finish their studies in Budapest.