On Monday in the Parliament Building in Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told reporters that “The Hungarian Cabinet and the Government of the United States of America will sit down to negotiate the matter of the Central European University”.

The Prime Minister was asked about the CEU in relation to the proposed legislative amendment affecting foreign universities.

Mr. Orbán said that “The Hungarian government – and also, I am sure, the Government of the United States of America , will be motivated by good intentions, so there is no need for alarm on anyone’s part”.

Asked about the future of the CEU, he said that “We will sit down to negotiate with the Americans about what they would like”.

“There are regulations in Hungary, which 27 foreign universities – including the ‘Soros university’ – do not abide by; these regulations are what we must now put in order”, Mr. Orbán stated.

Based on the amendment to the Act on Higher Education, in future foreign institutions of higher education that provide degrees will only be able to operate in Hungary if there exists an intergovernmental agreement to support their operations.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)