Hungary’s Parliament Passes Law Targeting George Soros’s University<br />New amendments to an existing higher education law — which received the support of 123 lawmakers, with 38 voting against and another 38 abstaining — ostensibly affect about two dozen universities,<br />but they were widely believed to be aimed specifically at Central European University, based in Budapest.<br />But the amended law contains a provision that would most likely restrict the independence of universities<br />that offer diplomas from countries where they do not have a campus or offer courses — a provision that would affect only Central European University.<br />"That would be entirely absurd." The leaders of Eotvos Lorand University, one of Hungary’s largest<br />and most prominent universities, known as ELTE, were among dozens of voices from the education sector to speak out in support of Central European University.<br />He called the way the university operated a "fraud," adding<br />that "in Hungary, one cannot be above the law — even if you’re a billionaire," a clear reference to Mr. Soros.<br />Even before the vote, Mr. Orban’s conservative government had been accused of weakening academic freedom, a constitutional right, and the legislation approved on Tuesday amended a 2011 law<br />that put government-appointed officials in charge of finances at state-funded universities.<br />eride the idea that democracy requires independent institutions or constraints on majority rule." Hungary received the lowest "democracy score" in Central Europe, the statement said.<br />that Viktor Orban of Hungary and Jaroslaw Kaczynski of Poland openly d
