Hungarian government moves to free universities of political control
The Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, has passed a constitutional amendment dissolving the 34 public-interest trusts (PITs or KEKVA in Hungarian), which control major state assets, including 21 universities, and the Sovereignty Protection Office. Assets granted by the state to KEKVA foundations will revert to the state on the day following the constitutional amendment promulgation.
This amendment, passed on 15/06/2026, follows Magyar's plan of "liberating Hungarian universities and restoring academic freedom", which he declared during his inauguration on 09/05.
The move is expected to help Magyar's bid to ensure that all Hungarian universities can take part in the EU
European Union
's Erasmus+ programme during the next academic year.
These PITs were used by Viktor Orbán's government in 2019 to transform several Hungarian universities into publicly funded private universities. After issuing a warning regarding potential conflicts of interest and the "lack of transparency regarding the management of funds by these foundations", as board members were appointed by the government, the EU imposed sanctions in December 2022, including the suspension of Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe-funded projects for these 21 universities.
On taking office, Magyar vowed to win back frozen EU funding. During a meeting with Magyar in Brussels on 29/05, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the new government was "moving forward" to deliver on its promises, including to fight corruption and restore the rule of law. Von der Leyen unlocked over €16 billion of frozen EU funds for Hungary.
The Commission wants the Hungarian government to address conflict-of-interest issues before recommending to the Council of Ministers that all Hungarian universities should have access to the Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe programmes.
A major political shift in Hungary
The main objective of the constitutional amendment was also to introduce an eight-year limit on the term of the prime minister, preventing Orbán from running again. The amendment was passed with 135 votes in favour, 50 against (mainly from Orbán's opposition party) and six abstentions.
Hungarians gave Magyar, Orbán’s pro-European challenger, a landslide victory on 12/04: the 45-year-old President of the Tisza Party (liberal, conservative and populist centre-right party) won 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament, giving him the two-thirds majority required to make major changes in legislation. Orbán had been in power since 2010 and led Hungary towards a path of euroscepticism and far-right authoritarian reforms.
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