The Central European University (CEU) on October 25 unveiled plans to relocate its American accredited masters and doctoral programmes from Budapest to Vienna from next September, unless the government clears the last hurdle for its future operations by signing the agreement with New York State before December 1. 

The US ambassador to Hungary was apparently told by the government weeks ago that it will not sign the agreement, however, David Cornstein has promised to work with both parties to resolve the impasse in hope of a last-minute deal. 

The decision by the institution's board of trustees will come into effect on December 1, said CEU's president and rector Michael Ignatieff at a news conference in Budapest packed with students and media staff. He expressed his hope that a solution to the stand-off was still possible, which could ensure that courses remain in Hungary. But if a solution is not found, the CEU will move to Vienna as the university cannot continue to operate legally in Budapest, he noted. 

The school was founded by US-Hungarian financier and philanthropist George Soros in 1991, who also funds various liberal NGOs in Hungary, which has aroused the country's populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ire for offering a liberal education.

Ironically, Orban was granted a scholarship in 1988 from the Soros Foundation to study political science at Pembroke College, Oxford along with a number of his peers in other foreign universities. The Hungarian-born Jewish businessman also helped finance the establishment of the liberal, anti-communist Fidesz party (Alliance of Young Democrats), set up by a dozen university students in 1988, one year before the fall of the Communist regime.

Soros, the scapegoat

The right-wing conservative government began its legal attack against the university in the spring of 2017, which fitted well into its intimidation campaign against NGOs, migrants and independent media. 

The CEU, widely regarded as the “crown jewel” of the network connected to George Soros in Hungary, seemed to be the perfect target for the government's hate campaign after the inflow of illegal immigrants came to an end as Hungary erected a fence on its southern border in late 2015. It allowed Orban to thematise public discourse and this constant fear-mongering helped his party win a third sweeping victory in the 2018 elections. 

The Hungarian government has repeatedly accused the billionaire, who has spent millions backing organisations that promote liberal democracy and open borders in Europe, of plotting to destabilise the continent by allowing millions of migrants to settle there. 

Large billboards were a frequent presence throughout the country ahead of the April general election and advertisements on radio, television and the internet all had the same message: Soros is organising mass migration to Hungary and the rest of Europe and it must be stopped. The Hungarian-born businessman, who fled the country in 1947, was depicted as a public enemy. 

In the spring of 2017, Hungary tightened rules governing the operations of foreign universities in the amended education law, which was specifically targeted at curtailing the CEU's operations. It required foreign universities to operate on the basis of an interstate agreement and to run a campus in the country in which they are based. 

The US-based university has met the legal criteria by reaching an agreement with Bard College in New York State, which accepted the highest number of Hungarian students after 1956.

There is one last criterion remaining for the university to continue to operate legally in the country after 2019. The Budapest government reached an agreement in September 2017 with representatives of New York State, where the university is registered, but the agreement has still not been signed and has not been ratified by Hungary's parliament. The government has failed to provide any explanations for this but has been cynically pointing the finger at the institution.

Cynical responses from Soros graduate spokesperson

In response to the CEU press conference, government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs, himself a CEU graduate, branded Ignatieff's statement a "political bluff" on the part of US billionaire George Soros. He said the CEU "will continue to operate in Hungary today, and, in our opinion, in the future too." 

When asked about any future negotiations, he said the CEU should deal with the facts of the matter which have been made clear to them a thousand times. 

Despite protests, international calls to revoke the contested educational act and an ongoing infringement procedure by the European Union, the government's stance hardened further after its third straight supermajority win in April 

In September, the university was told there was no agreement to sign. A study programme for refugees in Hungary has been canceled because of a new law putting it at risk of a fine, and the teaching of gender studies has had its Hungarian accreditation withdrawn and gender studies programs have also been banned.

At Thursday's news conference Ignatieff said that students who have already begun their studies in Budapest will finish them here, and as much education and research as possible would remain in the Hungarian capital. The rector said the CEU wanted to comply with Hungarian laws and remain in Budapest. 

The CEU would welcome further talks but wants its academic freedom as a US institution operating in Hungary to be recognised, the rector said.

Ignatieff said the Vienna campus has been preparing to open for several months. This will go ahead even if the CEU can retain its freedoms in Hungary, he said.

US ambassador hoping for a last-minute agreement

According to a theory circulating in the opposition media, the goal of the whole campaign to oust CEU from the country was an attempt by the government and Orban personally to score points with US President Donald Trump, who has also been a vocal critic of the Hungarian-born financier. 

Hungary's populist PM was the first European leader to back Trump in his election campaign. But Hungary's diplomacy may have been miscalculated as it did not expect that kind of solid and unified bipartisan support for the "Soros University" as they call it. 

The US ambassador to Hungary, David Cornstein on Thursday said: "the CEU remains a priority for the US government and has overwhelming bipartisan support in the United States."

"I understand the CEU's position that 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. I am working with both parties to continue the negotiations and find an acceptable resolution before December 1," according to the statement by the US embassy.

Opposition parties united

Opposition parties also condemned the government's politically driven efforts to expel the university. 

The CEU has been subjected to political persecution and its departure from Hungary would be a loss to the country and its higher education system, the opposition Socialist Party said on Thursday. 

Opposition green party LMP said the CEU was being subjected to a "political showdown". 

"It is outrageous and unforgivable that the government is driving out the country's leading university," the leftist Democratic Coalition said.