On Tuesday, the Fidesz supermajority in the Hungarian Parliament passed a bill submitted by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology that ends the year-long struggle for the research institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Disregarding all of the Academy's suggested changes, the new law takes the entire research network away from the Academy and hands them to a new organisation that gets to use the Academy's property without remuneration. The Academy is likely to initiate the law's constitutional review as they believe it violates academic freedom and their right to hold property.

The Hungarian Government's intention to bring about changes in the way Hungarian scientific life is funded first manifested itself last June when the 2019 budget proposal intended to place the Ministry of Innovation and Technology in charge of around two-thirds of the Academy's funding. The scientific community strongly objected to this proposal, many said that it would endanger academic freedom in Hungary. Following several bouts of negotiations and several alternative proposals put forth by the MTA, the mostly one-sided dispute that lasted almost a year ended at the beginning of June, when the Ministry of Innovation and Technology submitted a legislative proposal to the Parliament that basically swept all suggestions of the Academy off the table.

The law, just passed by the parliament, with 131 votes in favour and 53 against and 3 abstentions, takes MTA's research institutes away from the Academy and places them under the control of the new Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH). This new organisation will get to use the Academy's property without remuneration. The new law also creates the National Scientific Policy Council, an advisory body lead by the Minister of Innovation and Technology meant to set the general directions of scientific research.

The Eötvös Loránd Research Network

The new law sets up the Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH) that will be in charge of the 15 research institutes that thus far comprised the research network of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The Academy has to hand over usage rights over all of their assets used by the research institutes to the ELKH with no remuneration.

The draft for Hungary's 2020 budget already includes ELKH, and while the Academy's planned expenses for 2019 were 56.2 billion Forints (~€175 million), the 2020 budget only has 16.9 billion Forints (~€52 million) allocated for the Academy. At the same time, the ELKH appears in the budget draft with a proposed 48.5 billion Forints (~€151 million) available for their expenses.

The ELKH will be controlled by a 13-member governing board with six delegates of the Academy and six of the Government, and a president jointly nominated by the Academy and the Ministry. All members (including the President) will be appointed by the Prime Minister, but there will be no direct, formal government control, however, as all decisions require a simple majority, the Academy's delegates have little chance to go against the will of government delegates.

The ELKH's board will be in charge of reorganising and closing existing research institutes, creating new ones, and allowing other research institutes to join the network. The research institutes will have no representation on the ELKH's board, despite the multiple requests made by the Academy.

This board will be aided by a group of advisors comprised of internationally acclaimed foreign researchers who will be representing the "interests of science", as the Ministry's press release stated, and will assist the regular performance assessments to be carried out by the ELKH.

By the way, the creation of the ELKH is exactly what the Minister promised not to do: on audio footage from 2018 acquired by Index, the Minister was trying to reassure the Academy at the beginning of the coordination process by saying that the Government is not planning to separate the research institutes from the Academy and they do not wish to set the areas of research. We asked the Ministry about what happened since then, and they told us:

"The sentences cited are from the beginning of the negotiations, and since then, the long and fruitless procedure resulted in changes in the positions of both sides."

The National Science Policy Council

The National Science Policy Council was also created by the Parliament today. The president of this council, that will only be responsible to the Prime Minister, will be the Minister of Innovation and Technology.

The task of the Council will be to provide opinions and suggestions concerning the Government's R&D; and innovation measures, including the program strategy of the National Research, Development, and Innovation Office Fund. The council's members will be "influential individuals from the field of economy, science, and administration" invited by the Prime Minister based on the suggestions of the Minister of Innovation and Technology.

The Ministry argues

The Ministry of Innovation and Technology maintains that all state funds spent on research must have tangible results with regards to the Hungarian economy, and their aim is to have more research projects that lead to inventions and patents, as their press release issued on 12 June stated. The Ministry opines that the current system is inefficient, therefore it needs to be reinforced both institutionally and financially, and that the new budget brings about the possibility of a unified redistribution of funds that is based on performance.

The press release states that two-thirds of the governing body of the ELKH will be made up of "practitioners of science" taking personal responsibility for the quality, and the Ministry hopes this will improve the number of domestic and EU research tenders won by the institutes.

The Academy objects

On the same day, 12 June, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences held an international press conference. László Lovász, the President of the Academy said there that the Academy has been running the research network successfully and MTA even prepared several strategic documents to satisfy the government demand for increased innovation, but the Government has failed to justify the separation with a comprehensive strategy. Answering journalists' questions, Lovász said he thinks the real reasons behind the changes could be the Government's general policies of centralisation. While Lovász thinks that the Minister strongly believes in technological progress in Hungary and wishes to acquire the means to further that, he said that there could be some personal bad feelings in the background as well. Lovász noted that research institutes have criticised government policies on a scientific basis before, which officials should not take personally, and he added that the Academy suggested having more direct channels of communication with the Government exactly for that reason.

Lovász also said that while MTA has been trying to "participate in the negotiations in a constructive and professional way," the Government has not done so. The first draft of the amendment to the law on the Academy was sent to the Academy for an expert opinion with a 54-minute deadline, and as the Academy's research budget was placed in the hand of the Minister last year, the government made "several attempts to unlawfully withhold the release of funds." Lovász also noted that the resolutions made by the joint committee of the Academy and the Ministry were utterly disregarded during the drafting of the bill that was since passed by Parliament, just like the Academy's suggestions.

Lovász said that the scientific community clearly refused the governmental plans, and that was also made apparent by some of the best researchers already having left the country. He added that the new institutional framework jeopardises academic freedom, and having more government control does not equal more innovation. The Academy's president warned international press that the Orbán government's example might soon find followers in other EU countries as well.

Earlier, when the proposal for the law passed today was submitted to the Parliament, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences strongly objected to the separation of the research network from the Academy and suggested the Ministry revoke parts of the proposal that concern the Academy. The Academy gave the following reasons for this:

The proposal takes the research network away from the "internationally and nationally highly renowned Academy, which has centuries-old traditions and has been operating independently of politics for decades" with no explanation or justification.

Assets for ELKH should be provided by the Academy according to the proposal, which makes the "establishment of a new institution pointless,"

The proposal would make the legal provisions governing the operation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Academy of Arts vastly different, which raises constitutional concerns,

The Ministry attached no impact assessment to their proposal,

and the proposal limits the Academy's right to property to such an extent that is, in practice, equivalent to expropriation without compensation and therefore it is in violation of Hungary's Fundamental Law.

Now that the proposal has been passed into law, the Academy is likely to seek constitutional review as the 12 June unanimous resolution of the Academy's Governing Board stated that it would be inevitable due to the serious constitutional concerns surrounding the bill.

(Cover: Human chain around the Academy's building on 12 February 2019. Photo: Ajpek Orsi / Index) </s> Hungary's National Assembly has adopted a controversial bill to vastly restructure the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA).

Human Rights Watch reported Tuesday that 15 academic institutes were to be removed from the Academy and placed in a newly established state research network.

The plans, which have been known since early in year, have repeatedly provoked protests from researchers and academics at home and abroad.

The changes are expected to come into force at the beginning of September. The supervisory board — the Eotvos Lorand Research Network (ELKH) — is to consist of 13 members. Six to be named by the Academy of Sciences and six by the Ministry of Innovation. The head of the committee will have the casting vote — appointed by Hungary's Minister of Innovation Laszlo Palkovics.

The creation of the ELKH will deprive the Academy of important financial resources, including scholarships for scientists and funds for research projects.

Additionally, the Academy could lose its grant, enshrined in law, to finance its running costs.

The new law will also establish a National Science Policy Council, to be headed by Palkovics. This body will advise the government on innovation and research topics.

The Academy of Sciences has unanimously spoken out against the amendment. Its president Laszlo Lovasz said in a statement ahead of Tuesday's vote: "We kept on negotiating relentlessly, but our efforts proved futile."

Lovasz concludes that the future scientific landscape is "unsuitable for the research community" and that the law violates "European principles."

Palkovics, on the other hand, argues that by restructuring the sector, the government wants to make Hungary more competitive within the scientific world.

The minister justified the move with reference to German research institutions he says fulfil a similar task to the soon to be established ELKH: The Leibniz Association or the Max Planck Society.

Representatives of the German science organizations see the situation quite differently, emphasizing their independence from politicsin an open letter. They were critical of the bill, siding with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Numerous critics from the world of politics have also spoken out. Udo Bullmann, leader of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, accuses Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban of wanting to silence critical scientists.

"We are horrified to see Orban strike a new blow against scientific freedom and democracy in his country," Bullmann said. He is "obviously out to establish a flawless autocracy in Hungary," he added.

Since 2017, the Hungarian government has repeatedly taken steps to restrict freedom of scientific work within the country. Since then, the work of the Central European University, financed by US philanthropist George Soros, has been severely limited.

As a consequence, the CEU will gradually move to Vienna and start teaching there from fall 2019. By 2023, the entire university will have moved to Austria — a direct result of Orban's plans to restrict scientific freedoms. </s> BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungarian lawmakers passed legislation on Tuesday to tighten state control of research bodies run by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), overriding protests against the latest step to expand the government’s role in public life.

Since taking power in 2010, right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has brought about a politicization of the courts, media and universities, putting his government at odds with the European Union over rule of law standards.

The new law strips the 200-year-old Academy of its network of research bodies and hands them over to a committee with a chairman appointed by Orban and half its members from the government.

The change was needed “to ensure a sustainable boost to Hungary’s long-term competitiveness… (and) a more efficient use of resources,” the bill’s author, Innovation and Technology Minister Laszlo Palkovics, wrote in his reasoning.

Palkovics will now chair an 11-member council on behalf of the Academy to allocate and monitor funding.

The government will manage research institutes separately, and could add new ones or close existing ones.

Orban will appoint the chief of the research council based on a joint recommendation of Palkovics and the MTA chief.

Academy President Laszlo Lovasz said the increase in state influence over scientific research was unacceptable and he would challenge the legislation at the Hungarian Constitutional Court.

“One of the highly problematic aspects is the excessive influence of the government by European standards,” he told Reuters in an interview last month.

Thousands of Hungarians have taken to the streets to protest the planned overhaul of research activities and budgets, with another rally scheduled for later on Tuesday.

The European Commission has said it will monitor Hungary’s public research system and urged authorities “to refrain from any decision restricting scientific and academic freedom”. </s> Academic freedom in Hungary suffered a fresh blow Tuesday, when the parliament, where ruling party Fidesz has a two-thirds majority, adopted a controversial bill undermining the independence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The country’s president is expected to sign it into law.

The Academy, comprised of distinguished scientists and intellectuals, has a research network of 15 institutes and 150 research groups comprising about 3,000 scientific researchers. The new bill will increase state control over the Academy by removing the 15 research institutes from the main academy and placing them in a newly established state research network (Eotvos Lorand Kutatasi Halozat).

The state research network will have a new governing board with members appointed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and a majority nominated by the government. The board will decide on funding and appoint directors for each research institute. The changes will allow the government to shape what types of scientific projects will be funded rather than the Academy independently making those decisions.

Emese Szilagyi, Scientific Secretary of the Institute for Legal Studies at the Academy of Sciences, told Human Rights Watch that among Academy researchers, there is fear the Academy won’t be free to choose research topics but may be forced to conduct research in fields the government wants and be expected to provide findings that support their preconceived theses.

The government’s recent campaign to ban academic gender studies in Hungary and its move to force Central European University out of the country suggests this fear is well founded.

These moves highlight the government’s wider efforts to silence critical voices and discourage independent thought.

These worrisome developments, part of the broader rule of law backslide in Hungary, underscore the importance of the political sanctions process against Hungary’s government triggered by the European Parliament last year under Article 7 of the EU treaty.

The next step is for the EU Council of member states to scrutinize Hungary’s record, but the Council has yet to have a hearing on the matter. The incoming Finnish presidency should schedule a Council hearing on Hungary as soon as possible. </s> BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences says the government is moving to gain control of Hungary’s research institutes and he fears the country will see an exodus of scientists.

Academy President Laszlo Lovasz said Wednesday that a government-drafted bill on the academy’s financing threatened academic freedom and could reduce support for social science research of government policies.

Lovasz said the government plans “are refused by an overwhelming majority of the Hungarian scientific community. Some of the most excellent researchers have already left the country.”

The Hungarian Science Academy has 3,000 researchers in a network of 15 research centers and 150 research groups at universities.

The government says it wants to increase innovation “which can effectively help the Hungarian economy.” </s> Against a background of widespread protests from academics and broken promises from the government side, Parliament voted on Tuesday to relocate research institutions of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) to the Eötvos Loránd Research Network (ELKH), a new body with its own, independent budget chapter, local news media reported.

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences on Széchenyi tér in Budapest (photo: Botond Horvath/Shutterstock)

The legislation was passed with a vote of 131 for, 53 against, and three abstentions, state news wire MTI reported.

The MTA leadership earlier protested against the "forced transformation without any valid reasoning," complaining that the new legal framework offers no guarantees for basic funding. The Academy appealed to lawmakers to weigh its arguments, aired over months of negotiations with the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, and warned that approving the proposed legislation would "hurt the freedom of scientific research and could result in the loss of values which are fundamental for Hungary."

The MTA said earlier that it would initiate an appeal of the legislation with the Constitutional Court, if approved.

Disregarding all of the MTAʼs suggested changes, the new law takes the entire research network away from the Academy and hands it to the new ELKH, which gets to use the Academyʼs property without remuneration, notes a summary in English by independent news site Index.hu. The new law also creates the National Council of Scientific Policy (NTT), headed by Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics, who will be in charge of appointments. The MTA would only have a single representative on this body, which would set the general directions of scientific research and would be ultimately responsible to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Index.hu notes that the creation of the ELKH is "exactly what the minister promised not to do," asserting that Palkovics had reassured the Academy at the beginning of the coordination process that the government was not planning to separate the research institutes from the Academy, nor to set the directions of research.

According to Index.hu, the ministry maintains that all state funds spent on research must have tangible results with regard to the Hungarian economy, and their aim is to have more research projects that lead to inventions and patents, as stated in a press release it issued on June 12. The ministry opined that the current system is inefficient, needing to be reinforced both institutionally and financially, and that the new budget would bring about a unified redistribution of funds based on performance.

Index.hu recalled that the Academy had aimed via prolonged negotiations to obtain guarantees for the continuing independence of research, with the overwhelming majority of academics adopting a position against the Palkovics plan. Despite this, the minister withdrew earlier promises and opted to use the Fidesz parliamentary supermajority to force through the plan.

The network of 15 research institutes hitherto under the control of the MTA now passes to the ELKH, which the law allows to restructure, eliminating individual institutes or adding new ones. The network will be overseen by a 13-member body, including six representatives from the Academy and six from the government, with no direct representation from the research network itself, and with the president to be appointed by Orbán on the joint recommendation of the MTA president and Palkovics.

The Forum of Academy Staff, a civil initiative of researchers from the network of research institutes of the MTA, said it will hold a demonstration against the legal changes today from 4 p.m. on Széchenyi tér, in front of the Academy building.

The Index.hu summary in English can be read here. </s> , Budapest, Hungary, Jul 2 – The Hungarian parliament passed a bill Tuesday enabling the takeover of research institutes by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, which is accused by critics of seeking to control key institutions and sectors.

The bill, approved by 131 of lawmakers in the 199-seat assembly, gives Orban’s nationalist, anti-migration government control of a vast network of research institutes currently run by the two-century old Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA).

Orban’s critics say that since coming to power in 2010 he has tightened his control over most key institutions in Hungary, including public media, the judiciary and the education sector.

Scientists have condemned the move against research institutes as a threat to academic freedom.

Under the legislation, a new institution with board members appointed by Orban will allocate funding for research.

This body would also use the MTA’s properties and part of its administration.

Founded in 1825, the MTA is the country’s oldest and largest scientific institution but the government views it as an inefficient relic of communism.

Its institutes currently employ some 5,000 staff nationwide including around 3,000 researchers, and perform a vast range of research ranging from philosophy to music, animal husbandry to space research.

Orban has argued that Hungary needs to boost its performance in international innovation rankings and create more economic profit from science.

Last year, he set up a new Innovation and Technology Ministry (ITM) to begin moving control of scientific funding away from the MTA in favour of new “innovation-driven” projects.

The MTA’s president has said the reforms “threaten academic freedom” and have alarmed “the vast majority of Hungarian scientists,” arguing that the shake-up is partly because MTA experts have criticised government policies in recent years.

Thousands have demonstrated in Budapest in solidarity with the institution at several street protests since the bill was drafted earlier this year.

A new protest has been set for Tuesday afternoon. </s> Hungary's parliament has passed a controversial bill that puts the country's oldest scientific institute under the direct control of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government.

The bill, approved by 131 out of 199 legislators in the assembly on Tuesday, allows the takeover of a network of research institutes overseen by the 200-year-old Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA).

The legislation, expected to take effect in September, will hand over 15 scientific institutes to Eotvos Lorand Research Network (ELKH), a newly-formed state network overseen by a board ultimately appointed by the prime minister.

The MTA warned the move could trigger a brain drain in the country. The takeover had been the subject of tough debate - and even street protests by scientists - since the ruling Fidesz party was re-elected in April 2018.

Last month, MTA president Laszlo Lovasz asked the scientists to fight for the freedom to "pursue their research in Hungary, without any political pressure".

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs did not respond to questions from Al Jazeera but insisted in a blog that the goal is to boost the funding and efficiency of Hungary’s under-performing research and development sector.

"Our goal is to promote research that contributes to Hungary's economic growth and overall development, one that turns knowledge into tangible results," he wrote.

The government has suggested it could cut or increase funding to MTA's research bodies depending on the areas they study.

Orban's critics say the push to take control of MTA is part of a wider, systemic takeover of Hungary's key institutions. The election system, judiciary and NGOs have largely been tamed, as has public media.

Critics say control of academic and cultural institutions is now being sought in order to rewrite history and cement power for Orban's "illiberal democracy".

Human Rights Watch said the move against MTA highlights the government's "wider efforts to silence critical voices and discourage independent thought".

Shortly after his re-election, the populist prime minister had laid out his vision.

"We have been mandated to build a new era," Orban announced. "An era is determined by cultural trends, collective beliefs."

Peter Kreko of the Budapest-based think-tank Political Capital told Al Jazeera that Orban had announced clearly he would concentrate on "taking over the national narrative".

"To change the cultural course in a way beneficial to his government," he said.

Fidesz party's political appeal is based on its assertion that only a strong leader can "protect" Hungary from globalist forces "threatening to flood the country" with migrants and "destroy its Christian culture".

Orban's first major move towards tightening his grip on education came in 2013 when the national curriculum was put under centralised government control.

The introduction of academic works by anti-Semites and fascists sparked large protests in the country.

That campaign has recently been accelerated.

Last year, university gender studies programmes were stopped and the prestigious Central European University (CEU), founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, was forced to move to Vienna following a long-running dispute with the government.

A few days ago, CEU president Michael Ignatieff criticised Western governments for failing to act in support of academic freedom, warning it would lead to a "democratic recession".

"In Orban's system, the institutions manufacturing this knowledge must be under control," said Kreko. "The move on the MTA is not an accident."

The MTA is not the only research institute fighting for its life. Last month, the 1956 Institute, named after a failed revolution against the communist regime and a depository of recent historical research, was folded into the government-run Veritas Institute.

"This government destroyed the 1956 Institute and is in the process of doing the same to [the MTA]," wrote Eva Balogh, a Hungarian-born former lecturer on Eastern Europe at Yale university in the US.

Kreko also pointed out the generous amounts of EU funds given to European academic and cultural institutions.

Orban is reported to have built a network of friendly oligarchs to absorb subsidies coming from Brussels, home to the EU headquarters. </s> Hungary’s government is poised to tighten control over the country’s venerable academy of sciences, in what critics call another attack on academic freedom and independent institutions by nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban.

Hungarian deputies voted on Tuesday to create a new organisation to take over the academy’s 15 research institutes and all their buildings and other assets. The government will nominate half the members of the council that will oversee the new network, all of whom will be appointed formally by Mr Orban.

Thousands of people have demonstrated against a move that the academy says would “effectively provide for complete governmental and political control over the research network” and “potentially jeopardises the independence of scientific research and science, which is otherwise guaranteed in the constitution”.

Another protest was planned for Tuesday against Mr Orban, whom critics accuse of dramatically expanding government influence over the economy, law courts, NGOs, media and education in Hungary, at the expense of autonomous agencies and checks and balances on his power.

Hungarian president Janos Ader is expected to sign into law a Bill that the government proposed despite facing EU legal action over its education reform, which is forcing the liberal Central European University to move most courses from Budapest to Vienna.

The EU is also taking Hungary to court over its hardline policies on asylum and NGOs, and it has launched disciplinary proceedings against Mr Orban’s government for allegedly undermining democratic values and the rule of law.

“These worrisome developments, part of the broader rule of law backslide in Hungary, underscore the importance of the political sanctions process against Hungary’s government triggered by the European Parliament last year under Article 7 of the EU treaty,” Human Rights Watch said after the Bill was passed.

“The next step is for the EU Council of member states to scrutinise Hungary’s record, but the council has yet to have a hearing on the matter. The incoming Finnish presidency should schedule a council hearing on Hungary as soon as possible.”

The academy has vowed to challenge the changes in Hungary’s constitutional court, and on Tuesday it alleged that the government’s plan “contrasts with basic European research funding principles and seriously endangers academic freedom”.

Government spokesman Laszlo Kovacs has accused critics of “hyperventilating” over the reforms and said the nearly 200-year-old academy is “underperforming”.

“Our goal is to promote research that contributes to Hungary’s economic growth and overall development, one that turns knowledge into tangible results,” he insisted last month.

“And in order to do that, the existing system that is now hindered by division and inefficient management, should be brought under a new, more productive structure and made more accountable.”

In a rare setback for the government and apparent concession to EU concerns, deputies confirmed in a vote on Tuesday that Hungary was indefinitely postponing the creation of administrative courts.

The system was intended to operate under the ultimate control of the justice minister and replace the supreme court in handling cases of alleged state wrongdoing, including on politically sensitive issues like elections, corruption, police behaviour and protests.
The Fidesz supermajority of Hungary's National Assembly passes a bill, which takes the entire research network away from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and hands them to a new government-backed organisation.