Soros-funded organizations are not welcome in Hungary anymore, said the government. The Central European University (CEU), which is funded by Mr Soros, announced yesterday it was moving US-accredited degree courses to Vienna.
The billionaire George Soros-funded university after years of wrangling with the government of Hungary’s strongman prime minister, Viktor Orban, is leaving the country. According to Liviu Matei, the CEU’s pro-rector, the nationalist government was accused of opening the door to “repression” yesterday.
“We are being forced out of the country,” said pro-rector at a press conference. He added that government’s recent move is not restriction anymore; “this is repression” and the darkest day for the democracy in Hungary. In its turn, Orban Cabinet dismissed the move as a “political bluff”, noting that the CEU would still run local courses in Hungary.
The immigration issue became the base for conflict between George Soros and Viktor Orban, the Hungarian leader making a package of anti-immigration “Stop Soros” laws a key plank of his 2018 parliamentary election campaign.
Zoltan Kovacs, the Hungarian government spokesman, made light of the CEU decision, saying that there is no secret that a significant number of Soros-funded university’s courses will still be held in Budapest. “This is nothing more than a Soros-style political bluff, which does not merit the attention of the government,” he added.
