Question écrite de
M. Mikuláš PEKSA
-
Commission européenne
Subject: Erasmus+ funding in Hungary
In December 2022, the Commission said it would freeze cohesion funds reserved for Hungary owing to concerns over the rule of law.
This decision came hand in hand with the decision that a number of Hungarian universities were no longer eligible for Erasmus+ funding.
Given the number of universities concerned, a large proportion of Hungarian students will no longer be able to benefit from the Erasmus+ exchange experience. Preventing young people and students from experiencing the Erasmus+ programme because of the actions of their government is counterproductive and unfair. It could also have damaging effects for Europe as a whole, as it could lead to a loss of new potential workforce and educated people.
Additionally, the Commission intends to stop Horizon Europe funding.
Against this background:
1. Is the Commission aware that this decision will hurt the future academic, professional and personal prospects of many Hungarian students?
2. What is the intended outcome of limiting the European integration of younger generations, who are most likely to support the Union’s fundamental values based on the rule of law?
3. Will the Commission consider changing the decision on Erasmus+ funding for Hungary, and if so, how?
Submitted: 17.1.2023
Answer given by Mr Hahn on behalf of the European Commission
(28 February 2023)
As voted by the Council, the Council Implementing Decision (CID) of 15/12/2022 (1) suspends a portion of the commitments for three Cohesion programmes and prohibits entering into new legal commitments with public interest trusts and entities maintained by them when implementing the EU budget.
The measure aims to protect the EU budget from possible conflicts of interest and to ensure the transparent use of EU funds by public interest trusts.
As long as the latter measure is in place, no grants may be awarded and no new legal commitments involving EU budget may be signed with these entities in direct and indirect management.
Meanwhile, those entities can still apply to calls for proposals and participate in the selection procedures of the EU programmes (e.g. Erasmus+, Horizon Europe).
Entities that are not organised in the form of, or maintained by, public interest trusts, are not concerned by the measure. Universities as such certainly remain eligible for Erasmus and Horizon support.
Incoming Erasmus participants to Hungary from Members States or third countries associated to the Programme are not concerned either.
Moreover, there is no immediate impact on students for the ongoing Erasmus+ exchanges, which are based on legal commitments entered into before the CID took effect (16/12/2022).
If the measure is lifted by the time of the award decision, public interest trusts and entities maintained by them will be considered eligible again and it will be possible to sign legal commitments with them.
1 ∙ ⸱ Council Implementing Decision 2022/2506 of 15 December 2022 on measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule
of law in Hungary, OJ L 325, 20.12.2022.
| | ( | | )The Commission is ready to continue discussions with the Hungarian authorities and welcomes their plan to submit measures addressing the remaining concerns under the Conditionality Regulation (2).
2 ∙ ⸱ Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection
of the Union budget, OJ L 433I , 22.12.2020, p. 1.