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In an opinion piece originally published in the European Conservative, French MEP Catherine Griset, a politicians from the National Rally (RN), points out that with unjustified political sanctions and dubious financing, the European Commission has sacrificed the Erasmus+ education program on the altar of its ideological preferences. The author pays special attention to the political interference and blackmail that this education initiative has been weaponized for.
Erasmus+ is one of the most emblematic programs of the European Union. Conceived to help European students from various countries engage with each other and strengthen academic cooperation. It was supposed to be a creator of unity and a means to transmit the fundamental values of our civilization. But the current management of the program has betrayed its principles. With unjustified political sanctions and dubious financing, the European Commission has sacrificed Erasmus on the altar of its ideological preferences.
In September 2023, the Commission made the controversial decision of suspending Hungary’s participation in two leading programs: Erasmus and Horizon Europe. Officially, this measure was presented as taken in response to the reform of higher education initiated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Inspired by the American model, the reform aims to modernize Hungarian universities by instituting, via private foundations, Boards of Trustees in charge of strategic, financial and academic decision-making.
The objective of the move is dual: on the one hand, it aims to improve the international standing of Hungarian higher educational institutions, and on the other, attract private funding. By integrating representatives of the private sector into the management of universities, the reform simultaneously simplified university governance, and catalyses investments into the higher education sector.
In addition, the adoption of this reform was never compulsory: it was supported and freely chosen by the majority of Hungarian universities, and a minority could in turn preserve the old structure.
Similar university management models exist in other European countries, too, for example in Germany. But whether one is in favor of such a model or not, it is up to the Hungarians to decide about it, and certainly not Brussels bureaucrats.
By suspending Hungarian universities from participation in the Erasmus and Horizon programs, the Commission made a decision that is equally unacceptable and profoundly unjust. The sanction, which affects practically the entire Hungarian higher education sector and close to 180,000 students, pretends to be targeting the Orbán government’s education reforms.
The Hungarian government has attempted to resolve the situation by proposing the passing of a new law, but the Commission has kept demanding ever newer amendments to it. As a result, the funding remains frozen to this day for the majority of Hungarian universities.
The European Commission in reality is weaponizing the concept of the rule of law to weaken a leader who defies it, sacrificing in the process Hungarian university students and exacerbating the divisions within the European Union. This politicization of educational programs and research betrays their original purpose.
While Hungary remains excluded, universities with proven links to Islamism continue to receive Erasmus funding. The example of Gaziantep University in Turkey is telling: its rector has publicly hailed Ismaïl Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, an organization classified as a terrorist group by the European Union. Despite this, the university is still part of the Erasmus+ program.
And this is not an isolated case. In 2021, it was revealed that the Islamic University of Gaza, nicknamed “the Hamas campus”, had received €1.8 million in European funds via Erasmus. Jean-Paul Garraud, head of the National Rally delegation in the European Parliament, and myself have tabled an amendment asking for an explanation and demanding an audit of the funding. But the Commission, true to its laxism, remains deaf to our calls.
How can we justify the fact that institutions linked to Islamist movements continue to receive European subsidies, even though Hungary, a member of the Union, is ostracized? This double standard is an insult to the citizens who finance these programs.
It is only because our delegation spoke out against these scandals that Macronist MEPs finally woke up and followed suit, demanding accountability from the Commission.
National Rally MEP Catherine Griset. Photo: Laurie DIEFFEMBACQ, EP
Faced with these abuses, it is urgent to remember the primary mission of Erasmus. Inspired by the humanism of Erasmus of Rotterdam, this program aimed to transmit the great values of European civilization: academic excellence, intellectual freedom and commitment to the humanities. It was not simply a question of facilitating student mobility, but of offering them an education rooted in our common heritage.
However, instead of promoting the humanities and the classics, Erasmus is today being diverted to finance institutions that are moving away from the very essence of our civilization. Rather than strengthening European unity, it is being used to promote projects that are contrary to our traditions and fundamental principles.
While the Commission funds institutions close to Islamism through Erasmus, it also seems indifferent to universities that promote wokeness and tolerate the excesses of the radical Left.
To restore the credibility and integrity of the program, we demand:
Erasmus is too valuable a program to be left in the hands of Brussels ideologies. We at the National Rally will continue to fight so that it once again becomes a genuine tool for academic excellence and the transmission of European values.
Via European Conservative; Featured Image: Facebook Erasmus +