Hungary is focused on CEU negotiations and working through a workable solution, according to government insiders.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has appointed deputy state secretary Kristóf Altusz as the government’s negotiator on the operation of foreign universities in Hungary. It is the government’s conviction that the conditions set in the higher education act are easily achievable by all well-meaning universities..
In Brussels on Tuesday, State Secretary for Education László Palkovics said that the government had no intention of closing down CEU, and the amended law on higher education only served to resolve certain issues.
Hungary has said that there will be an agreement with CEU, and no one wants to close it down. Government insiders insist that only Soros tries to politicize the issue.
“There is a misleading and false Soros campaign going on with relation to the Soros university. The first lie of this campaign is that if the amended act on higher education comes into force then the Soros university will be forced to close. This is not true, and according to the new Hungarian regulations it will continue to operate, launch new courses and issue diplomas," State Secretary Palkovics said.
The Hungarian government is not closing down any universities, and that includes the Soros university, according to Palkovics. All the Hungarian government would like is for every university to enjoy a level playing field, and if someone would like to enjoy special privileges, such as issuing a diploma from outside Europe, then there must be an international agreement concerning that fact, duly ratified by the Hungarian National Assembly.
The amendment of the act on higher education does not mean the closure of the CEU; the CEU will be able to continue its operations unhindered if Hungary and the United States agree on it. Hungary is well-meaning and the Hungarian government has made it clear that it is ready to begin negotiations.