EU suspends Erasmus funding for Hungary
According to a decision taken by the EU Commission at the same time as it froze funds from the Cohesion Fund for Hungary in December, funding from the European Union's Erasmus programme for 21 foundation-managed Hungarian universities will be suspended. Brussels justified the measure pointing to conflicts of interest and the risk of corruption given that high-ranking politicians sit on the universities' boards of trustees. Commentators are at odds over the move.
This comes as no surprise
The EU gave the Hungarian government plenty of warning, Népszava points out:
“The EU has repeatedly said that something should be done about this matter, because it fears that EU funds are not being delivered to the intended recipients. ... It is not unusual for a university to be headed by a body that includes not only academics. But it is unprecedented in Europe, and perhaps even in the world, for half a country's government and a large part of their entourage to be endowed with such positions.”
Baseless accusations
The pro-government Magyar Nemzet says the EU lacks the moral authority to make corruption allegations against others:
“Most outrageously, Hungarian students are being discriminated against on the grounds that the Hungarian authorities are failing to adequately address the risk of corruption. This comes from the Commission whose President can't find the text messages that would exonerate her from serious corruption charges, not to mention the fact that one vice president of the European Parliament is in pre-trial detention. ... In the midst of such a full-blown corruption scandal how can anyone in the EU make such vile accusations against a member state without having a shred of evidence to support them?”