EPP weakens European Parliament’s recommendations on academic freedom due to pressure from Orbán
Date
21 Nov 2018
Sections
Justice & Home Affairs
The European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee (AFET) today voted on the Recommendation on Academic Freedom in the EU's External Action report, which aims to make academic freedom a specific human rights concern in the EU’s foreign policy.
To ensure credibility, the European Parliament rapporteur for the file, the S&D MEP Wajid Khan tried to guarantee that the report required coherence between external and internal policies, as is standard with foreign affairs reports. That is why the S&D proposed amendments referring specifically to Hungary and the increasing attacks on foreign universities in the EU - like the American-based Central European University in Budapest, which Prime Minister Orbán is currently trying to close. The S&D also proposed to include academic freedom in the Copenhagen criteria for EU candidate countries.
Unfortunately, after the request made by the EPP shadow rapporteur, Andrea Bocskor from Fidesz, these amendments were ruled as inadmissible by the chair of the committee, who is also an MEP from the EPP.
S&D MEP Wajid Khan, the Parliament’s rapporteur for the file, said:
“The EPP showed its true colours today after bowing to pressure from Fidesz, the increasingly autocratic party which has cracked down on free speech and academic freedom in Hungary, and weakening our report. Overall, the report was a huge success and I am proud that the Parliament will recommend stringent academic freedom measures. However, it could have gone further.
“The EU will have no credibility in external relations if we cannot get our own house in order - this is directly linked to Fidesz’s attacks on freedoms, including academic freedom, in Hungary. We cannot say there is one rule for them and another rule for us.
“The EU Global Strategy says that “living up consistently to our values internally will determine our external credibility and influence” - this means that we cannot threaten academic freedom in the EU, while asking other countries to uphold this basic right.
“This is an incredibly concerning trend, and yet the EPP claim to value free speech and democratic values. They even placed academic freedom in a recent resolution at their conference, saying that “Governments should protect academic freedom at all times”. It transpires that this isn’t the case at all, and they will allow themselves to be carried further right by the increasingly autocratic regime in Hungary.”