I was in my third year, studying audiovisual communication and motivated by previously unknown arts, such as art, photography and cinema when I discovered a film that aroused all my curiosity for Hungary, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, it had it all, a strange mix between an extravagantly perfect photography and a great sense of humor.
We are in 2014 and whenever a friend of the group went on Erasmus, we did the impossible to go to see them. This year a friend, went to Budapest for Erasmus and it was the only trip we didn’t take. We have always regretted it.
Now back to 2023, I know the Erasmus + program, outside the universities, perhaps by luck, perhaps to find new ways to work in the field of non-formal education and continue training. My curiosity to know Hungary has not disappeared, and neither has the desire to travel there. Well, in 7 months I have been lucky enough to have participated in six European mobility projects, within the Erasmus + program.
As a participant:
– 1 Youth exchange: Slovenia (Finding balance).
– 3 Training Course: Bulgaria (AlwaysOn), Cyprus (From impact to learning) and Spain (What’s normal?).
As support:
– 2 Youth exchanges: Spain (Holistic Learning) and (Mohisdap) also in Spain.
From papers to reality
And until now, I have not shared space with any Hungarian participant or organization. Now that I am volunteering in a digital magazine when I was given the opportunity to choose my first article. I had seen a news that alarmed me a little bit and I wanted to investigate about it. So I proposed it and for that after searching all the information I could in networks, I contacted former volunteers of Balkan Hotspot/United Societies of Balkan and even a friend who has very recently participated in a youth mobility project there in Hungary.
The questions and conversations I had with them were about their personal experience. Furthermore what had taken them there or why they would recommend it. And leaving aside the food, a topic that everyone highlighted, the program and the cultural life that the city has and even the proximity it offers, not being a very huge city. But it is also true that in order to make the most of the city you should know a little more, as for example with the bus tickets, which have a discount for students, the food near the universities is really cheap and in the case that although it is a positive point, that the classes are in English, it also separates a little the local students from the European ones.
My surprise comes when I see a majority of answers from the young people who have helped me to get the information, that they didn’t know about the Erasmus program easily, just as it happened to me. And that the same thing happens about the news that we are going to deal with.
There is no Erasmus support for Hungarian universities after 15th of December 22
In recent years Hungary’s public universities have been drifting into private management by people connected to the government, which is not supported by the European Union. They have been suspended from European funding support in December due to lack of confidence in the transparency of their spending.
The daily Népszava reported that universities that “change the model” will not be able to receive new funds from the EU-funded Erasmus exchange programme and the Horizon research framework programme.
Budapest has promised to reform the law, but has only determined that politicians who are part of the foundations would not be able to vote on certain issues.
Népszava recalls that in 2020 more than 22,000 Hungarian students have participated in the Erasmus+ international exchange programme, with EU funding of 40 million euros.
Although it is often said that Erasmus is a programme for students, in reality public schools, vocational training and adult education institutions are also involved.
How to measure the impact
According to an infographic by the Tempus Foundation, which is in charge of coordinating Erasmus in this country, 8033 students from 50 higher education institutions travelled abroad in 2019. Moreover around 4800 students took advantage of the scholarship opportunity, most of them to Germany, Spain and Italy.
The largest number of students came from ELTE University Budapest, which is still a Hungary state university, so the EC decision does not affect it. However, the second and third ranked universities (Corvinus in Budapest and Szeged) have been run by foundations for some time. Therefore, we can fairly say that thousands of Hungarian students may suffer from the EU decision.
“I can confirm that during the month of December the Commission informed the (Hungarian) intermediary agency and this means that the national agency will be forbidden from 15 December to conclude new legal commitments with entities that fall into the category of public interest foundations,” EU budget spokesperson Balazs Ujvari told a press conference.
They also pointed out that in the last 25 years, 87,000 Hungarian university students have had the opportunity to study abroad thanks to the Erasmus programme. Based on information from a former senior official of the Tempus Public Foundation, Qubit writes that the Erasmus and Horizon funds for the academic year 2023-2024 are at stake.
Why did the European Union withdraw Erasmus support?
Although the Parliament amended the relevant laws last autumn, it didn’t change the provision that allows high-ranking political officials to join the boards of foundations. The EU27 considers it incompatible for political leaders to be able to decide on the payment of public funds to organisations where they are employed and have decision-making power. Therefore, they withdraw support from outsourced universities for the time being.
This decision affects to 21 public institutions that, over the last decade, have been converted into foundations by the prime minister’s (Viktor Orban) government, which has placed in management positions, people close to Fidesz, the ultra-conservative party that holds two-thirds of the seats in Parliament.
And here’s the catch: although they function as private institutions for management purposes, the so-called “public interest foundations” are financed by state funds without being subject to legal obligations regarding conflicts of interest, something that has been criticised in the past by both the European Commission and the European Parliament.
But what will happen to programmes already underway?
“This will be clarified, similar to the question of other EU resources, by 16 March 2023,” the ministry added.
The implementation of this decision will be carried out only with new projects, i.e. all those that are already in operation or programmed will be carried out as normal.
The concern of teachers and professionals in Hungary working in the sector is directed at the short time remaining for the new projects to come. The Hungarian ministry is doing its best to resolve this situation as soon as possible so that upcoming projects will not be affected.