Hungarian youth organisation may solve the Erasmus crisis Orbán cannot
The National Youth Council of Hungary (NIT) has called for the mobility of more than 180 000 students abroad. At the hearing of the European Union’s Committee on Petitions, the representative of the Hungarian youth umbrella organisation presented the results of the successful signature collection campaign launched by the NIT together with three Hungarian student organisations in spring to make Erasmus+ mobility programmes available at the 21 Hungarian model-changing universities. The hearing was a success, with the political groups unanimously supporting the continuation of the initiative.
More than 2,000 young Hungarians voiced their opinions at the hearing of the European Parliament on 20 September 2023, organised by the National Youth Council. The organisation presented the results of its signature collection campaign, launched in the spring, to the Committee on Petitions in Brussels, in which young Hungarians clearly expressed the need for continued access to the Erasmus+ mobility programmes. The hearing was a success, with all political groups unanimously voting in favour of keeping the petition open, and the Chairman in his closing speech specifically calling on the European Comission to take action to advance the cause of Hungarian students.
Together with its member organisations, the National Union of Students in Hungary (HÖOK), the Association of Hungarian PhD and DLA Candidates (DÖK), National Association of Higher Education Dormitories, NIT started a petition in April this year to get the European Commission to restart Erasmus+ higher education exchange programmes in Hungary in parallel with the ongoing negotiations between the Euroepan Union and Hungary. The main message of the petition, which has been signed since then, is that Hungarian young people should not fall victim to a political dispute between the European Union and the Hungarian Government, and therefore the National Youth Council and the student organisations are asking the parties concerned to settle the conflict as soon as possible.
HÖOK said in a statement that members of the European Union’s Committee on Petitions (PETI) agreed the European Commission needed to find a quick solution. Furthermore, they adopted the petition and supported its further analysis. The members agreed with the HÖOK that time is not on the side of the quarrelling parties. HÖOK also asked for help from the European Students Union, which issued a joint statement urging a swift solution to the problem in the name of 20 million students from 40 countries.
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62% of Hungarian students will not gain international experience
According to Péter Kovács, President of the National Youth Council, the success of the petition lies in the fact that the well-being of the next generation is an indisputably important issue for everyone:
“By freezing mobility opportunities, around 182,000 students, 62% of Hungarian students, will be deprived of the opportunity to gain international experience, which may also affect their future job search and career prospects. For a young person at the gateway to adulthood, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build contacts and get to know other cultures and languages. We are confident that our hearing before the Petitions Committee has resulted in an effective voice for Hungarian young people on the international stage, and that this will give new impetus to the ongoing negotiations.”
According to the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 of 15 December 2022, no new legal commitment can be made with the model universities in Hungary, which will also affect the Erasmus mobility programme, i.e. international student exchange programmes will no longer be available. The National Youth Council of Hungary, together with student organisations, calls on the EU executive to unblock the Erasmus+ programmes in Hungary in parallel with the negotiations with the government. Several major student advocacy NGOs have joined the action.
The online petition is available HERE.
Featured image: illustration