According to the Government, the statement by the Central European University according to which the distribution of American diplomas will be transferred to Vienna is “a Soros-style political bluff”, the Government Spokesperson said on Thursday in reaction to a CEU press conference.

“The Central European University has always operated in Hungary, is operating in Hungary today, and in our opinion will always be operating in Hungary”, Mr. Kovács said. “The statement according to which the University will be transferring the distribution of American degrees to Vienna is part of this political bluff, and the Government does not react to such things, it is not its business to deal with such matters”, he declared.

In response to questions concerning further negotiations, Mr. Kovács said the CEU should instead begin addressing matters “that they have already been told about a thousand times”. “The University is fully aware of the Hungarian regulations, according to which it could operate, but instead of actually conforming to regulations its response is a political bluff”, he added.

On Thursday, President-Rector of the CEU Michael Ignatieff announced that if no solution is found by 1 December to the situation that has arisen with relation to the Central European University, then from the 2019-20 academic year new students applying for the University’s masters and doctorate programmes with American accreditation will study at the CEU’s campus in Vienna.

(MTI)