CEU signs agreement with Bard College to meet legal requirements in Hungary

The Central European University in Budapest has signed an agreement with Bard College in New York to provide educational activities in New York State, the university told MTI on Tuesday.

Talks have been held in recent months between New York State and the Hungarian government about the future of the CEU but the university “has intentionally refrained from making public statements” in order to help the success of these talks, the statement showed.

The CEU has not participated in the talks but has been informed that they have “created the basis for an agreement”. It is anticipated that the government will sign an agreement and parliament will ratify the agreement with New York State, which will enable CEU to continue operating in Budapest, the statement said, adding that this has always been the university’s intention.

The CEU, founded by US financier George Soros, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bard College to provide educational activities in New York.

The university said it hopes that this memorandum of understanding, which does not preclude future agreements with other New York-based institutions, helps to provide the basis for a speedy conclusion to this affair.

State secretary for education László Palkovics said in parliament on September 20 that talks held with Maryland State and also with New York State had been held on a professional basis and “there were no political aspects”. As we wrote, it is expected that McDaniel College, based in the US state of Maryland, will be the first non-European-Union higher-education institution to have fulfilled the conditions set down in Hungary’s new higher-education law.

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He added that he expected the talks with New York State to be concluded in the near future.

If the CEU meets the conditions then an agreement will be signed, he said.

An amendment to Hungary’s higher education law passed in April stipulates that an inter-state agreement is needed for any foreign university to operate in Hungary and issue an international degree. The foreign university is expected to also operate as a registered higher education institution in the country where it is headquartered and have the licence to issue a higher education degree recognised by the state.

photo: CEU

Source: MTI