BUDAPEST, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Hungarian government gave the Central European University (CEU) another year to comply with new Hungarian regulations in an amendment of the higher education act, submitted by the Hungarian government to the parliament, Minister of Justice Laszlo Trocsanyi said here on Friday at a press conference.
Earlier this year, the Hungarian Parliament approved amendments to the higher education act that required foreign colleges and universities in Hungary to operate on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement and to have a campus in the country in which they were based.
The CEU, which is accredited in the state of New York but had only one campus in Budapest, said that the amendments would make its continued operation in Budapest impossible.
In April and May, several demonstrations were held in Budapest, as a show of solidarity with the CEU.
According to the new amendment, the CEU will have until January 1, 2019 to comply with the regulations, instead of January 1, 2018, Trocsanyi declared.
"The amendment will extend the deadline for the foreign educational institutions to meet the requirements needed for their continued operations in Hungary," Trocsanyi said, adding that the first deadline was enough for most of the concerned institutions.
However, he declared that the government acknowledged the fact that the negotiations were still ongoing with "others institutions, namely the CEU."
The present modification of the higher education act has been demanded by the European Commission and by many universities, opposition political parties as well as by many famous scientists worldwide.
Although CEU has not yet reacted to the favorable turn of event, it gave a statement on Wednesday, in which they declared having met the necessary requirements, and are waiting for the ratification by the Hungarian parliament of the agreement between the Hungarian government and the state of New York. They will also be able to offer education within American territory, as demanded by the Hungarian law, thanks to an agreement with an American institution, the Bard College.
"Talks between New York state and the Hungarian government have resulted in a framework agreement that would allow CEU to remain in Budapest, continuing to issue its American and Hungarian accredited degrees. Pursuant to the New York-Hungary draft agreement, CEU and Bard College have concluded a memorandum of understanding, committing CEU to develop educational activities in the state of New York," said the statement.
"What remains to be done is for the Hungarian government to sign the draft agreement with New York and send it to the Hungarian Parliament for ratification so that it can acquire the force of law. We urge the Hungarian government to do so without further delay," the statement concluded.
