Hungarian university students will once again be able to participate fully in the EU’s Erasmus+ programme from the 2026/2027 academic year, the government has announced. The move comes after years of dispute between Budapest and Brussels over the governance of Hungary’s university foundations.
Hungarian students are set to regain access to the European Union’s Erasmus+ exchange programme from the 2026/2027 academic year, according to an announcement by the Hungarian government on Thursday. At the same time, universities and researchers previously affected by the restrictions are expected to regain access to Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation programme.
The government described the development as a major achievement of the new administration’s first 100 days, saying negotiations with Brussels and the restructuring of Hungary’s university foundation system had paved the way for the return.
“The new government’s first 100 days have resulted in restoring Hungarian university students’ opportunity for European learning, gaining experience and building connections,” the government said.
Why was Hungary excluded from Erasmus?
The dispute dates back to Hungary’s university model change between 2019 and 2021. During this process, many formerly state-run universities were transferred to public-interest asset management foundations, known as KEKVA foundations.
These foundations received substantial state assets and were placed under boards of trustees, several of whose members were politicians, government officials or other figures closely linked to the executive branch. The European Commission raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest, the length of trustees’ mandates and the rules governing their appointment and dismissal.
In December 2022, EU member states therefore decided, under the bloc’s conditionality mechanism for protecting the EU budget, that new financial commitments could not be made with Hungary’s public-interest asset management foundations or the institutions they maintained.
This did not mean that Hungary as a whole was excluded from Erasmus+. Instead, the restrictions affected universities operating under the KEKVA system. In total, 21 higher-education institutions were affected, including some of Hungary’s largest universities. Around 200,000 students were impacted as EU-funded mobility opportunities gradually became unavailable to them.
Hungary launched its own alternative
The previous government responded by launching the Pannónia Scholarship Programme in 2024, financed from the Hungarian state budget. With an initial annual budget of around HUF 10 billion, the programme was designed to support thousands of Hungarian students, academics and researchers undertaking study or research trips abroad.
Pannónia also established partnerships outside Europe, but it could not fully replace Erasmus+.
The EU programme offers more than scholarships: it provides a long-established network of institutional partnerships, common rules, credit recognition arrangements and cooperation between thousands of European universities.
University reforms paved the way for Erasmus to return
After taking office, the Tisza government submitted legislation aimed at restructuring the public-interest asset management foundation system. According to the Ministry of Education and Children’s Affairs, the reforms are intended to address conflicts of interest, improve transparency and strengthen university autonomy.
Education and Children’s Affairs Minister Judit Lannert subsequently held talks with university rectors and other higher-education leaders about changing the existing foundation structure and, in some cases, phasing out the KEKVA model. The central question was how to bring the system into line with EU conflict-of-interest requirements while protecting universities’ operations and funding.
The government’s latest announcement represents the first tangible result of that process. However, the practical return to Erasmus+ may not happen simultaneously at every institution. Universities still need to renew or reactivate international partnership agreements, launch student application procedures and arrange the payment of scholarships.
