On Tuesday, the European Parliament (EP) adopted its report on the implementation of the Erasmus+ programme for education and research for the period 2021–2027 during its plenary session in Strasbourg. However, an agreement with Hungary regarding Erasmus still has not been reached.
Back in January 2023, the European Commission froze funds for foreign exchange programmes at universities and research institutes managed by public interest trusts. This action was taken because the presence of active politicians on university boards of trustees was considered problematic, and the length of their mandates was not clearly defined. Since then, active politicians have stepped down from the boards of trustees, but the EU maintains that the Hungarian government has yet to meet the required conditions for the universities to be eligible for participation in the exchange programmes.
The Hungarian government and the Commission were expected to reach an agreement in November 2023. However, Minister of Regional Development Tibor Navracsics shared that the negotiations stalled in late autumn. He expressed his concern in an interview with Polish state news agency PAP, saying:
‘I have observed a lack of willingness from our negotiating partners to take further steps in solving the problem, possibly due to political pressure from the European Parliament.’
A number of amendments to the report were proposed ahead of Tuesday's debate, one of them being put forth by MEPs from the largest right-wing political groups in the EP (EPP, ECR, and ID), as well as Fidesz and KDNP MEPs. The amendment called for ‘fair, lawful, and transparent procedures to be agreed upon with the Commission to ensure that Hungarian students, teachers, and researchers can fully benefit from the Erasmus+ programme and contribute to the broader goals of European educational and research cooperation.’
The left-wing majority EP has, of course, dismissed the proposal and instead adopted another amendment.
It calls on the Hungarian government to immediately comply with the rule of law and EU values in order to allow Hungarian students and researchers to benefit from Erasmus+. The amendment was introduced by liberal Renew MEPs, and among the signatories were Hungarians Katalin Cseh and Anna Donáth, MEPs from the far-left Momentum party.
Fidesz MEPs responded to the adoption of the anti-Hungarian proposal with a statement. ‘During the preparation of the report, there was a significant debate on the issue of Hungarian students, teachers, and researchers. Together with the rapporteur of the report, we made several attempts to encourage the European Parliament to address the situation of students and teachers at model universities who were unlawfully deprived of participation in the EU programme. However, at the initiative of two left-wing MEPs, Anna Donáth and Katalin Cseh, the left-wing majority in the EP decided to maintain the disenfranchisement of Hungarian researchers, teachers, and students. This means preventing Hungarian students, researchers, and teachers from continuing to participate in EU programmes. The behaviour of MEPs Donáth and Cseh is shameful.’
Speaking after the vote, Fidesz MEP Enikő Győri stated: ‘At the initiative of Anna Donáth and Katalin Cseh, the EP continues to withhold EU funds from Hungarian students, teachers, and researchers illegally, using it as a form of political blackmail.’
Almost simultaneously with the EP vote, President of the Republic Katalin Novák engaged in discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Davos within the framework of the World Economic Forum. In a post on her Facebook page, the head of state mentioned that they delved into various challenging issues, with a particular focus on Hungarian youth and the Erasmus+ programme. Katalin Novák expressed her confidence that Hungarian students will no longer be deprived of opportunities to study abroad.
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