Semmelweis University Could Win Battle against the Council of the European Union

Semmelweis University and several other universities have had their case accepted by the EU Court of Justice, after the institutions sued the Council of the EU. The reason for the action is that the organization has suspended 55 percent of payments for three operational programs in Hungary and has also banned them from entering into contracts with the EU, due to conflict of interest rules for public interest trusts, Magyar Nemzet reports.

Béla Merkely, the rector of Semmelweis University, spoke about the case in an interview with Népszava: “It is strange that while the university was excluded from the program on the grounds that it is run by a foundation, at least 50 percent of universities in Europe are run by foundations.” The rector explained: “Instead of defending itself on the merits, the council was arguing whether we had the right to sue it at all. Then, two weeks ago, the order came back saying that the council’s objections had been rejected and that our action had been accepted.” He added that the Council of the European Union had also been asked to give some plausible reason for the universities’ exclusion.

“We do not have a single politician on the board of trustees, but we do have a world-renowned professor from the Mayo Clinic, a rector, the head of the largest pharmaceutical company in Central and Eastern Europe, a dean, and a hospital director general.

None of them are politicians, and we were equally affected by this decision, on which we lost a lot: we are involved in a number of EU projects and we have lost out on over EUR 10 million in funding.

I went to the European Parliament and also sent my arguments to all the MEPs,” said the rector. He noted that EU experts had said to him that there was nothing wrong with the university, but despite this, the funding had not arrived.

“We won a big university project, which was a consortium bid of EUR 14.4 million in itself, and we could not get a contract. We are looking at the tender of the university association we founded as an outsider. I think it is outrageous. If we win the lawsuit, we will get this money with interest,” he stressed.

Béla Merkely expects that if a deal is offered before the end of the trial, the Council of the European Union will not tolerate David defeating Goliath, so he guesses that a draw will be offered soon.

He does not expect a decision before the EU elections. “For now, their aim is to increase tension, but as soon as the elections go down, the European institutions will start working and then they can find a solution,” he said.

In the interview, Merkely also spoke about the experience of the university’s foundation operation, saying: “We have an institutional development plan up to 2030, so we know what we will build and renovate, and when and what kind of equipment we need to buy. We also know how we can expand our commitments, how many international and how many Hungarian students we can take on,” he said. He indicated that the number of Hungarian students has been limited and is now practically at the ceiling. However, there is no ceiling for international students, “and we are competing with the whole world to attract the best students,” he added.

Via Magyar Nemzet, Népszava; Featured image: European Commission