Momentum's Anna Donáth's Immunity was suspended by the European ParliamentContinue reading
During its plenary week, the European Parliament voted on the report entitled “Implementation of the Erasmus+ program (2021-2027),” reported Magyar Nemzet. In their proposed amendments, Hungarian government MEPs have called for transparency, while opposition MEPs have voted with the majority to withhold vital EU funds from Hungarian students and academics.
The European Parliament’s vote on the progress of the Erasmus+ academic program this week was crucial for a possible review of the expulsion of Hungarian students and researchers from the initiative. Last year, the European Commission decided to expel young Hungarians from Erasmus+, citing rule-of-law concerns. Although the expulsion has not yet taken effect, the government in Budapest had labelled the move as politically motivated.
Fair, legal, and transparent procedures should be agreed with the committee to ensure that Hungarian students, teachers, and researchers can fully benefit from the Erasmus+ program
– reads the amendment supported by the government party, KDNP MEPs.
Due to the fact that the Hungarian Christian Democrats, the KDNP, are part of the EPP group, the left-wing Brussels-based newspaper Politico attacked the European People’s Party for colluding with what they called the ‘far-right.’ Yet Manfred Weber, the EPP leader’s spokesman called the Politico report “fake news.”
This Playbook attack is fake news @EuropaJens. The EPP Group line is against any exception. Apparently socialists want to see this so called right wing alliance so badly that you simply invent it whenever you need it. Not the way to safeguard democracy in Europe. pic.twitter.com/S9Jt1PgMmg
— Dirk Gotink (@DirkGotink) January 16, 2024
In another amendment to the report submitted by the Renew group, liberal MEPs called “on the Hungarian government, to comply immediately with the rule of law as well as with the EU values, and implement the necessary reforms so that Hungarian students, teachers, and researchers can benefit from the Erasmus+ program.” The amendment was signed, among others, by two Hungarian MEPs, Anna Donáth and Katalin Cseh, from the progressive-liberal party, Momentum.
The signatures of Donáth and Cseh under the amendment are all the more contentious as Momentum has its roots in a left-wing student movement and draws much of its electoral support from university students and young professionals. Their amendment is a de facto endorsement for the planned exclusion of Hungarian students from the Erasmus program, and shifts the blame solely to the Hungarian government. Instead of standing up for the interests of their core electorate, they used their votes to preserve the current legal status quo.
As far as Brussels’ long-term goals are concerned, the exclusion of Hungarian universities from the Erasmus+ program is not aimed at punishing the young Hungarians for the perceived mistakes of their political leaders as such. On the contrary, it is designed to turn them against the conservative government of Viktor Orbán by shifting the blame for their lack of international opportunities to their current domestic political leadership. Most students seem to be impervious to this narrative though, as Momentum has not gained any traction in the polls, standing long term at around seven percent. Yet in part due to their political activism, Hungarian students could be stripped of European Erasmus international exchange programs funds. This will probably stay so throughout the current EU budgetary period until 2027, unless the EP elections in June could bring about a dramatic shift to the right, or as in Poland’s case, a government subservient to Brussels’ dictate would take over in Budapest.
Featured Image: Facebook Katalin Cseh.