EU suspends Erasmus+ and Horizon grants to 21 universities

According to Népszava, Hungarian universities that operate as public trust foundations or are maintained by such foundations will not receive fresh grants from the European Union-funded Erasmus+ exchange and Horizon Europe research and innovation programmes, writes Mariann Ory for Hungary Today.

In total, the ban affects 21 Hungarian universities – including prestigious institutions such as Corvinus University, University of Veterinary Medicine and Semmelweis University, and all the major universities outside the capital that received significant funds from these programmes, and for whom foreign students are very important.

According to Népszava, the universities were targeted by the EU because “their operating model did not ensure the transparent management of EU funds, as neither public procurement nor conflict of interest rules applied to them”. Under pressure from Brussels, the Hungarian parliament “amended the relevant laws last autumn, but despite the EU’s warning, it did not change the rule allowing senior political officials to sit on the foundations’ governing bodies,” it adds. A spokesman told the newspaper that the decision is temporary.
Full report on the Hungary Today site