Hungary's Crackdown on Soros-Linked Schools Ruled Illegal by EU Top Court
Source: Bloomberg
Hungarys crackdown on foreign-funded colleges, such as the George Soros-linked Central European University, was overturned by the European Unions top court in a ruling that refocused attention on the erosion of the rule of law under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The judgment returns Hungary to the spotlight at a time when the EU is considering cutting funding to member states found to be flouting the rule of law. Orban, who is among the leaders trying to torpedo the effort, initially threatened to scupper the blocs 750 billion euro ($883 billion) coronavirus fund before offering last week to forgo billions of euros to escape further EU scrutiny.
Of all of Orbans measures to roll back democracy over the past decade, his drive to oust CEU has been among the most emblematic. Soros, the Budapest-born U.S. investor and philanthropist, founded CEU after the fall of the Iron Curtain to train a new generation of leaders committed to liberal democratic values and open societies, something Orban has come to oppose.
Restrictions introduced in 2017 on foreign universities effectively barred CEU from enrolling new students limited academic freedom, the EU Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday. The government also violated EU safeguards on the freedom of establishment and free movement of services, the 13-judge panel said.
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By Stephanie Bodoni and Zoltan Simon
10/6/2020, 3:37:01 AM Updated on 10/6/2020, 10:24:01 AM
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/crackdown-on-soros-linked-schools-ruled-illegal-by-eu-top-court