In Hungarian media, which are considered loyal to the government, it has long been vilified as a "liberal-extremist sentinel" and cadres for "Soros mercenaries" - the Central European University (CEU), founded in 1991 by the Hungarian-American stock market billionaire and philanthropist George Soros. For two years there has been a confusion about the status of the university - and that is now in a new round.
Recently, the Hungarian government's actions against the university internationally had become a symbol of how Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wanted to curb critical academic thinking in the country. That's why the CEU decided to move to Vienna in December and already has a campus there. Now the university may supposedly stay in Budapest.
At least that's what the Hungarian Prime Minister hinted in a vague way. Not without considerable outside pressure: The fate of the University of Orbán's Fidesz party in the European People's Party (EPP) has made the University's fate a plunder.
What about the Uni Deal between Orbán and EPP Group Leader in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber? Does the head of the Hungarian government are serious? Or does he, as so often, play a tactical game in order to prevail in the end?
Soros University wanted to change clothes
DPA
April 2017: Protesters protest against plans to close the CEU in Budapest
The "Lex CEU", adopted in early April 2017, provides that foreign universities in Hungary can only maintain their operations and award diplomas, if an international treaty is concluded with the government of the country of origin - and if they also in their Home country have a teaching operation. The latter did not apply to the CEU - the only one of all foreign universities in Hungary.
Although the "Soros University" then concluded a cooperation agreement with the Bard College in the US state of New York and set up a teaching operation there. But the Orbán government did not want to accept that. She has since refused to sign a contract with the state of New York.
Consequence: The CEU decided in December last year to move to Vienna and start teaching there from autumn 2019. For CEU students already enrolled in Budapest, however, teaching will be continued until the end of the course, as will the university section of the CEU, which awards valid degrees in Hungary. The latter, however, only affects a few dozen students. Most enrolled in US degree programs.
Talks with BMW
At the beginning of March, Manfred Weber made the stay of the CEU in Budapest one of the conditions for the further membership of Fidesz in the EPP. And at the same time suggested that the Technical University of Munich (TUM) could co-finance chairs at the CEU.
Julien Warnand / AFP
Viktor Orbán in Brussels
This could be a special treat for Orbán linked: From CEU circles said that the Bavarian carmaker BMW is for the financing of these chairs in conversation. At the request of DER SPIEGEL, Frank Wienstroth, Head of the Communication Production Network at the BMW Group, confirmed that BMW had talks with the TUM regarding the planned cooperation between Munich University and CEU, but that they were open-ended, and there was no decision.
The background: Orbán maintains a close relationship with German car companies such as Audi, Mercedes and BMW, which are regarded as the backbone of Hungarian industry and export economy. They enjoy numerous investment and tax concessions in Hungary and finance many technical chairs in Hungary. Public criticism of the political transformation in the country they do not practice.
Orbán was open to Weber's proposal. In a letter to the Bavarian State Chancellery, he wrote that his government would "not oppose any cooperation between the CEU and the TUM" that the CEU could "research and teach in Hungary" as it has done for the past two decades.
"A door is open again"
It's an ambiguous phrase that leaves Orbán open to all scenarios. At the request of SPIEGEL, the Hungarian Government did not want to comment on the details. The CEU leadership and university teaching staff were extremely reserved. On Thursday, the CEU Rector announced at a gathering of CEU staff: "A door is open again, the question is whether the government will go through."
Not only the two-year confusion around the CEU is cause for skepticism. For years, the Orbán government has systematically opposed critical, academic thinking and independent education. After Orbán government takeover in 2010, many unpleasant intellectuals were dismissed from government research institutions. In 2012, the government investigated a group of philosophers, including Ágnes Heller, for embezzlement - a kind of show trial and warning to critics.
SZILARD KOSZTICSAK / EPA-EFE / REX
Protest against the reorganization of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Hungary's pre-university school system has been strongly centralized, and the "Chancellor's System" has been introduced at state universities, which provides the government with far-reaching opportunities to intervene. Currently Orbán critics fear a breakup of the "Hungarian Academy of Sciences" (MTA). By contrast, hundreds of scientists demonstrated on Thursday in Budapest.
Against this background, CEU Vice President Zsolt Enyedi sees the future of his university in Budapest rather pessimistically: "I'm afraid that Orbán plays only temporary," said Enyedi the SPIEGEL. If the Hungarian government signs the international treaty, much of the teaching in Budapest will continue.
The CEU will definitely start teaching in Vienna from autumn onwards, regardless of how the Hungarian government decides. The CEU announced today that the campus will be set up in the coming weeks. "Vienna is a fantastic opportunity for us," says Zsolt Enyedi, "and at the same time a safe haven in which one does not have to expect that the rule of law will be outmaneuvered."