Warning to Israel: After more than three years in which dozens of research and higher education institutions in Hungary have been blocked from access to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, researchers report loss of collaborations, damage to reputation, and particular difficulty for young researchers, and they warn that it will take a long time for trust between Europe and academic institutions in Hungary to be restored.
Researchers in Hungary are warning that the ongoing disconnection of dozens of academic institutions in the country from EU research and exchange programs has created a deep damage to the higher education system. According to a report in Science|Business, the ban imposed on 30 Hungarian research and higher education institutions from participating in the Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programs has lasted for more than three years, and affects not only the institutions officially included in the list, but also Hungarian researchers at other institutions.
Hungarian President-elect Péter Magyar recently stated that he would restore Hungary's participation in European Union research programs, primarily Horizon Europe.
The background to the crisis is the European Union's decision from 2022, following a structural change implemented by Viktor Orbán's government in many universities and scientific institutions. As part of the change, these institutions were transferred to the management of public foundations, headed by boards of trustees with members with strong ties to the government, some with long-term appointments and without sufficient oversight. The European Union saw this as a violation of academic freedom, transparency, and the rules of good administration, and decided to prevent these institutions from accessing European funding.
Gergely Kovacs, director of the Center for International Higher Education Studies at Corvinus University in Budapest, described the decision as an “atomic bomb” that had landed on Hungarian higher education. He said that when researchers cannot submit joint applications, join European consortia or conduct joint research, they are gradually being marginalized. In Hungary, the phenomenon has even begun to be called “academic Huxit,” a play on Brexit, reflecting a sense of forced detachment from the European space.
The Hungarian government has tried to set up alternative national programs similar to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, and has even encouraged researchers to seek collaborations outside the EU. According to the report, at one research institution, researchers were encouraged to publish with colleagues from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, or anywhere else outside the EU. But the alternatives do not compensate for the loss of access to European research networks, and especially the loss of the ability to integrate into large competitive projects.
Personal injury
The damage is not only institutional but also personal. Agnes Sonnmar, a senior lecturer at Corvinus University and head of the Institute for Global Studies, said she lost an opportunity to join a European consortium that was looking for an expert from Eastern and Central Europe on China. She said that after she had already contributed to the proposal, the consortium members discovered that her university was included in the ban and chose not to include it for fear that it would weaken the application for funding. She emphasized that the researchers themselves did nothing wrong, but they are the ones who are forced to pay the price and restore their reputations.
The problem is particularly difficult for young researchers, who have not yet had time to build a stable international network of contacts. Veteran researchers can sometimes rely on existing connections, but early-stage researchers especially need grants, collaborations and conferences to establish their status. When European partners are wary of including a Hungarian institution in a research proposal, even talented researchers may find themselves left out.
Social sciences have also been particularly hard hit. Prof. György Lengyel, emeritus professor at the Corvinus Institute for Advanced Studies, said that he had previously participated in European projects under the EU’s research programmes for years, but since the end of the Horizon 2020 project in which he was involved, it has become increasingly difficult to find partners. He said that social sciences in Hungary were already suffering from a lack of public funding, and the European disconnection has exacerbated the situation.
The European Union is also blocking additional funds for Hungary, amounting to almost €17 billion, due to broader concerns about corruption, the rule of law and LGBT rights. However, there is disagreement among scholars about the justification for the academic ban. Some believe it is justified because of the danger of concentrating power in university boards of trustees. Others argue that it punishes the wrong people: students and researchers who are not accountable to the political structure created by the government.
Recent political developments in Hungary are raising hopes for change. According to the report, Péter Magyar and the Tissa party have declared their intention to change the funding model and return Hungarian institutions to full participation in European programs. In a speech at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Magyar pledged to work to return Hungary to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, accusing the outgoing government of treating the scientific community as an enemy rather than a partner.
However, resolving the crisis will not be simple. One option is to abolish the foundation model and return universities to the status of regular public institutions. Another option is to amend the existing model to meet EU requirements, by changing the composition of the boards of trustees, reducing their powers, strengthening the powers of the academic senate, and increasing accountability and oversight mechanisms. In other European countries, there are models of universities operating through foundations, but there the powers of the boards of trustees are more limited.
From the academy – also in Israel
The Hungarian story is also relevant to Israel, precisely because it illustrates how an attack on the independence of academic institutions can quickly turn from an internal issue into an international crisis. In Hungary, the transfer of universities to public foundations whose boards were controlled by government-affiliated parties led the European Union to block dozens of institutions from accessing Horizon Europe and Erasmus+.
In Israel, threats are currently being made by Education Minister Yoav Kish to advance budgetary sanctions and legislation against universities that take public or political positions. Although the situation in Israel is different, the lesson from Hungary is clear: when the government tries to reshape the boundaries of academic freedom and the independence of institutions, the cost is not limited to the local arena. It can damage the trust of international partners, research grants, collaborations, and the status of academia as an independent space of criticism and knowledge.
The Hungarian crisis demonstrates how questions of corporate governance, transparency and academic freedom can directly affect a country’s ability to integrate into European science. For Hungarian researchers, the question is not just whether funding will be restored, but whether the trust that has been damaged can be quickly restored. Even if the ban is lifted, it may take time for European consortia to see Hungarian institutions as natural and reliable partners again.
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