Hungary has gained an ally in its fight against the European Commission’s discrimination of university students and researchers. The Austrian Private Universities Conference (ÖPUK), the representative body of Austrian private universities, has issued a statement opposing the exclusion of Vienna-based Modul University, majority-owned by Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), from the EU’s Erasmus+ and Horizon exchange programmes.
The prominent Austrian higher education organization has strongly protested Brussels’ decision, asserting that funding for exchange programmes should not be used as a tool for political pressure. ÖPUK firmly rejected the practice of using students as leverage in political disputes, calling it unacceptable.
As Hungarian Conservative reported, the European Commission decided earlier in January to exclude Modul University from the EU’s exchange programmes. This decision echoes the one made in December 2022 against 21 Hungarian universities. Back then, Brussels justified its controversial move by citing concerns over the presence of active politicians on university boards of trustees and the lack of clarity regarding the duration of their mandates.
Since then, active politicians have stepped down from these boards, but the EU has maintained that the Hungarian government has not yet fully met the conditions required for the universities to regain eligibility for participation in the exchange programmes.
‘ÖPUK firmly rejected the practice of using students as leverage in political disputes, calling it unacceptable’
The issue of public interest trusts is part of the EU’s conditionality procedure, which mandates Hungary to fulfil 17 conditions in order to access €6.3 billion from cohesion funds.
The decision against Modul University was justified on the grounds that, following MCC’s acquisition of a 90 per cent ownership stake in the Vienna-based institution in April 2023, the university is now effectively maintained by a Hungarian trust of public interest and is therefore subject to the same sanctions as Hungarian universities.
However, Modul University operates under Austrian, not Hungarian, law. This distinction means it cannot be subjected to the same sanctions, which were specifically designed for the regulatory framework of Hungarian universities.
This legal inconsistency was also highlighted in ÖPUK’s statement:
‘Putting financial pressure on universities because new ownership structures—which comply with the law—do not align with the political agenda of funding bodies is unacceptable. The refusal of funding contradicts the principles of freedom of science, art, and teaching, as mandated by Austrian law and upheld by both public and private institutions.’
ÖPUK concluded its statement by calling for an end to politically motivated interference in the allocation of academic funding. ‘If funding is not awarded based on academic criteria but rather on political motivations, this is most damaging to students and to Austria and Europe as centres of science.’
Balázs Orbán, political director to the Hungarian prime minister, welcomed ÖPUK’s support and firm stance against what he described as Brussels’ discriminatory actions. ‘We fully agree: students must not become tools of political pressure!’ he wrote in a post on his Facebook page.
ÖPUK, which represents about 20,000 students across 19 Austrian private higher education institutions, is one of Austria’s largest educational umbrella organizations. Its primary role is to advocate for its members’ interests before legislators, the public, the media, and other key stakeholders. It is also a founding member of the European Union of Private Higher Education (EUPHE), an association of European private universities that promotes greater decision-making powers and uniform access criteria for private universities across Europe and represents these issues in the European Parliament.
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