Romania’s Hungarian minority leader: Closing the Central European University would be a huge loss

Former Romanian culture minister Kelemen Hunor, the leader of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) – the main party representing the Hungarian minority in Romania, thinks that the closing of the Central European University (CEU) would be a huge loss for the whole region. Hungary’s Government led by Viktor Orban, one of UDMR’s main supporters, adopted a law on Tuesday that may force CEU, a university financed by Hungarian-born American billionaire George Soros, to close its activity. The decision has determined street protests in Hungary and negative international reactions. “If this university were to close, it would be a huge loss for Hungary and for Central and Eastern Europe, it would be a loss for the academic world, for the humanities and social sciences,” Kelemen Hunor said in an interview with RFI. “I am convinced that Hungary’s Government will reach an agreement with the U.S. and New York authorities on this matter,” the UDMR leader added. However, he added that no one can deny the right of a Government or Parliament to determine the conditions in which universities can function in their country. He also said that this case is only a symptom of a more profound crisis, which has been affecting not only Hungary and the neighboring countries, but the whole Europe. “People have less confidence in the values that have helped strengthen parliamentary democracies, open and free societies all over Europe, and this is what we should be looking into,” Kelemen concluded. AFP analysis: Fake news fuel EU-scepticism in Romania editor@romania-insider.com