Sunday, April 30, 2017

Viktor Orban Still Defiant on ‘Soros University Law’ After EU Summit



Viktor Orban Still Defiant on ‘Soros University Law’ After EU Summit
by Breitbart London29 Apr 2017
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – The Hungarian government remained defiant Saturday over the possible closure of Budapest-based Central European University, founded by billionaire George Soros.

The issue was on the agenda during Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s meeting in Brussels with leaders of the European People’s Party, of which his Fidesz party is a member.

The EPP was unusually direct in its criticism of Orban over CEU, a government campaign called “Let’s stop Brussels” and a draft bill targeting civic groups which receive foreign funding.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels.  (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, file)

EPP president Joseph Daul said that in light of objections by the European Commission and after consultations with Hungarian civic groups and the academic community “we have come to the conclusion that dialogue alone is not enough.”

The EPP “will not accept that any basic freedoms are restricted or rule of law is disregarded,” Daul said in a statement. “The EPP wants CEU to remain open, deadlines suspended and dialogue with the U.S. to begin.”

Both Daul and EPP spokesman Siegfried Muresan posted messages on Twitter saying Orban said Hungary would comply with the commission’s requests and EU laws.

While Orban said he was ready for cooperation with the commission, the EU executive, he indicated he was unwilling to eliminate new amendments to the law on higher education which could force CEU to stop operating as it currently does.

CEU, in Budapest since 1993, is accredited in Hungary and New York state, its graduate degrees are recognized both in Hungary and the U.S., but it has no U.S. campus. Orban says that issuing a U.S. degree without having a U.S. campus gives CEU an unfair advantage over other domestic universities.

“The existence of higher education institutions without actual activities operating as offshore mailboxes will not be permitted by Hungarian legislation in the future, either,” Orban’s press office said, adding that the government does not want to close the university and seeks to settle the legal dispute over the matter with the EU.

The government says it has no objections to the university issuing only Hungarian diplomas, but CEU says that would practically destroy its mission and its appeal to foreign students. CEU enrolls 1,440 students from 108 countries, including over 300 from Hungary.
EU commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, left, welcomes George Soros, Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundations, prior to a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, April 27, 2017. Soros was in Brussels to discuss the situation in Hungary, including legislative measures that could force the closure of the Central European University in Budapest. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP)

If it fails to comply with the new conditions, CEU would be prevented from enrolling new students after the end of the year.

CEU thanked EPP for its “unequivocal statement of support for our academic freedom.”

“We are grateful for the EPP’s call to suspend the deadlines and start negotiations,” said CEU Rector Michael Ignatieff. “We have called for negotiations from the beginning and we want them to reach a successful conclusion so that we can get back to work.”

Orban, who briefly studied at Oxford University thanks to a Soros scholarship in 1989, says he seeks to transform Hungary into an “illiberal state” modelled on countries like Turkey and Russia. He sees an ideological foe in Soros and his “open society” ideal and blames the Hungarian-born American for supporting migration through his backing of non-governmental groups like the Hungarian Helsinki Foundation and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, which advocate for asylum-seekers.

The government says a draft bill on NGOs receiving more than about $25,000 a year only seeks to increase “transparency.” NGOs, however, see the legislation scheduled to be passed in May as an attempt at intimidation and stigmatization.

Daul said that “NGOs are an integral part of any healthy democracy … and they must be respected.”

Still, Daul’s harshest words were for Orban’s anti-EU campaign, which claims bureaucrats in Brussels want Hungary to raise taxes and energy prices and take in illegal migrants.

“The EPP has also made it clear to our Hungarian partners that the blatant anti-EU rhetoric of the ‘Let’s stop Brussels’ consultation is unacceptable,” Daul said. “The constant attacks on Europe, which Fidesz has launched for years, have reached a level we cannot tolerate.”
George Soros, Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundation, waits for the start of a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, April 27, 2017. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP)

Brussels
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the 2016 bombings of Brussels airport and metro.

Note: Bashar al-Assad permitted the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Syria, is the president of Syria, and a supporter of the hacking group Syrian Electronic Army.  
Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, and the American Constitution Society.
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the People for the American Way, the Media Matters for America, the Center for International Policy, and the Sundance Institute.
Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Center for International Policy, and the American Constitution Society.
Barbra Streisand is the founder of the Barbra Streisand Foundation, and was a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Colleen Bell was a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and a U.S. ambassador for Hungary.
Margery Tabankin is the treasurer for the Barbra Streisand Foundation, and a director at the People for the American Way.
James C. Hormel is a director at the People for the American Way, was a donor for the Media Matters for America, and a U.S. ambassador for Luxembourg.
Jean-Claude Juncker was the prime minister, finance minister, treasury minister for Luxembourg, and is the president for the European Commission (EC).
Crispin Tickell was the chef de cabinet to the president for the European Commission (EC), the British permanent representative for the United Nations (UN), and is a director of the policy foresight program for Oxford University.
Bob Rae was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, and a college friend of Michael G. Ignatieff.
Michael G. Ignatieff is a college friend of Bob Rae, and the interim leader for the Liberal Party of Canada.
European Union (EU) is the executive body for the European Commission (EC).
Jean De Ruyt was the European Union (EU) representative for Belgium, a Belgian ambassador for the United Nations (UN), and is a senior public policy adviser for Covington & Burling LLP.
Daniel L. Spiegel was a U.S. representative to the European office for the United Nations (UN), and is a senior of counsel for Covington & Burling LLP.
European Parliament is elected by the European Union (EU).
Wim van Velzen was a member of the European Parliament, and a senior European policy adviser for Covington & Burling LLP.
Covington & Burling LLP was the lobby firm for Luxembourg, and the Center for International Policy.
Eric H. Holder Jr. is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, a board member for the American Constitution Society, and an attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice for the Barack Obama administration.
Goodwin Liu was a director at the American Constitution Society, and a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University.
Faith Elizabeth Gay is a board of adviser’s member for the American Constitution Society, and was an attorney at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.  
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Thomas C. DeFilipps was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, and is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP.
Covington & Burling LLP was the lobby firm for Luxembourg, and the Center for International Policy.
Stuart E. Eizenstat is a senior counsel for Covington & Burling LLP, and was the U.S. ambassador for the European Union (EU).
European Union (EU) is the executive body for the European Commission (EC).
Jean-Claude Juncker is the president for the European Commission (EC), and was the prime minister, finance minister, treasury minister for Luxembourg.
James C. Hormel was a U.S. ambassador for Luxembourg, a donor for the Media Matters for America, and is a director at the People for the American Way.
Margery Tabankin is a director at the People for the American Way, and the treasurer for the Barbra Streisand Foundation.
Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Center for International Policy, and the American Constitution Society.
Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch.
Bashar al-Assad is a supporter of the hacking group Syrian Electronic Army, the president of Syria, and permitted the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Syria.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the 2016 bombings of Brussels airport and metro.
Norman Lear is a director at the People for the American Way, the president of the Lear Family Foundation, and married to Lyn Davis Lear.
Lear Family Foundation was a funder for the People for the American Way, and a donor for the Movement Resource Group.
Movement Resource Group was a funder for the Occupy Movement.
Occupy Wall Street was the initial protest for the Occupy Movement.
Lyn Davis Lear is a director at the Lear Family Foundation, married to Norman Lear, a trustee at the Sundance Institute, and a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Steven E. Tisch was a trustee at the Sundance Institute, and is a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Walter L. Weisman is the chairman for the Sundance Institute, and a life trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Colleen Bell was a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and a U.S. ambassador for Hungary.
Barbra Streisand was a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and is the founder of the Barbra Streisand Foundation.
Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Center for International Policy, and the American Constitution Society.
Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch.
Bashar al-Assad is a supporter of the hacking group Syrian Electronic Army, the president of Syria, and permitted the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Syria.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the 2016 bombings of Brussels airport and metro.
Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch.
Patricia E. Mitchell was a director at the Human Rights Watch, and is the vice chair for the Sundance Institute.
Steven E. Tisch was a trustee at the Sundance Institute, and is a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Walter L. Weisman is the chairman for the Sundance Institute, and a life trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Lyn Davis Lear is a trustee at the Sundance Institute, a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and a director at the Lear Family Foundation, and married to Norman Lear.
Colleen Bell was a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and a U.S. ambassador for Hungary.
Barbra Streisand was a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and is the founder of the Barbra Streisand Foundation.
Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Center for International Policy, and the American Constitution Society.
Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch.
Bashar al-Assad is a supporter of the hacking group Syrian Electronic Army, the president of Syria, and permitted the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Syria.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the 2016 bombings of Brussels airport and metro.

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