Back

EU values: European Parliament calls Hungarian government to order


12 September 2018

On 12 September 2018, the European Parliament invoked Article 7, triggering a procedure to determine if Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary has systematically breached the EU’s core values. Notably, this is only the second time the Article has been invoked in EU history, and the first time the Parliament has initiated the procedure.


A European Parliament report released before the vote is very critical of the Orbán government’s democratic record and points to the “existence of a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values on which the Union is founded.” The report lists the values, including those relevant for universities: academic freedom, freedom of expression and assembly, and the right to and freedom of education.

Several key members of the European Parliament focussed on academic freedom in the plenary debate about the report, including the Chair of the CULT Committee dealing with universities, Petra Kammerevert, and Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party (to which Orban’s Fidesz party belongs). Notably, Weber underlined academic freedom as a core European value in his support for the motion.

Before the vote, the Hungarian government published more than 100 pages as a rebuttal of the accusations found in the European Parliament report. This was followed by an address by Orbán to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 11 September 2018.

Against this backdrop, EUA is particularly concerned about threats to academic freedom and university autonomy. The Association has been monitoring university autonomy in Europe over the past decade. While the situation is alarming in several countries including Turkey and Russia, Hungary is the first EU member state to systematically interfere in university matters and repeatedly violate academic freedom. EUA follows these developments closely and tries to support its members in upholding these fundamental rights and values.

EUA has 13 members in Hungary, including the Central European University, which has been a clear target of the Orbán government. Recent cases, including a proposed ban on gender studies programmes and a 25% tax on external funding for activities regarding migrants, prove that university autonomy and academic freedom are clearly deteriorating.

The Orbán administration should be mindful that these types of actions are not only damaging the country’s reputation and standing inside and out of the European Union, but have worrying implications on research and higher education.

Hungarian universities are internationally-renowned for their quality. This is due also to autonomy and academic freedom, which are of key importance, not only for Hungary, but for the future of the European Higher Education and Research Areas. Any breach has an impact on Europe as a whole, as well as on its global role in defending fundamental human and democratic rights. Therefore, any threat to core European values concerns not only the people of Hungary, but all EU citizens.

Next steps:

Now that Article 7 has been triggered, the EU member states in Council will have to examine the case in what will likely be a lengthy procedure. This includes Council determining whether the Hungarian government has indeed violated the values of the Union, and then agreeing what sanctions could be appropriate. Whether such an agreement between the countries can be reached remains an open question.

In any case, the European Parliament’s vote sends a strong signal and leaves a stain on the Orbán government’s international standing. It is also a warning to all EU governments to respect fundamental values, including those regarding university matters.

See also:

Comfortable read mode Normal mode X