The Central European University has confirmed it will move its US-accredited degree programmes from the Hungarian capital of Budapest to Vienna next September. "A United States institution has been driven out of a country that is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally", Ignatieff pointed out.
Founded by the Hungarian-born Soros in 1991 and chartered in the USA state of NY, the CEU says it was the target of a law passed April 2017 that placed tough requirements on foreign universities.
CEU's statement is the culmination of a years-long struggle between Hungarian-born but USA -based Soros, who promotes liberal causes through his charities, and the nationalist, anti-immigrant government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. They add that the US Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the New York State Education Department and the Hungarian Accreditation Committee have all certified the excellence of CEU's academic programs.
The university said it would leave Budapest if it had not secured guarantees of academic freedom by December 1.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Leon Botstein, said Vienna and the Austrian federal government had welcomed CEU "with open arms" as part of their commitment to academic freedom and research.
Ignatieff said while CEU had "a pretty good (legal) case" at those courts, he would not speculate about their outcomes.
CEU is a graduate institution accredited in the US and Hungary with 1200 master's and doctoral students in the humanities, social sciences, business, law, cognitive and network science.
Central European University founded by George Soros, changes permit.
Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban and his party have fought the school for years, citing a law that requires universities to have a location in NY, where they are accredited.
In addition, in accordance with the law of the foreign educational institution has to operate not only in Hungary but also in the country where it was established.
According to the Post, Orban has accused Soros of encouraging immigration into Europe, which Soros has denied, according to Reuters.
But a government spokesperson has called the American site "a Potemkin campus" that fails to satisfy the new rules and has refused to sign an agreement with the U.S. authorities that would let CEU continue to operate. Current students, though, can finish their studies at the Budapest campus.
Central European University said Monday it's been forced to leave Hungary after years of bitter legal battles with the country's ruling party.