Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation in Vienna
A strong Europe can be built from strong nations, that is why we reject the European Commission’s policy of overriding national identities, said Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation, at a press conference held at the Hungarian Embassy in Vienna on Monday after talks with Christian Hafenecker, Secretary General of the Austrian Freedom Party.
He stressed that the Hungarian government is a patriotic, modern Christian government committed to the Hungarian nation, and welcomes all those who are committed to the welfare of their own nation.
The Minister said that the future of universities excluded from the Erasmus+ program was also discussed at the meeting.
He recalled that the European Commission had excluded 21 Hungarian universities from the program, most recently the Modul University in Vienna.
Minister of Culture and Innovation Balázs Hankó holds a press conference at the Hungarian Embassy in Vienna. Photo: MTI/Filep István
He emphasized that “the political witch hunt represented by the European Commission goes beyond all boundaries.” This is also demonstrated by the fact that the decision violates not only Hungarian law but also Austrian law, because higher education is a national competence, not an EU competence, he added.
Balázs Hankó said that the European Commission and the Tisza party serving it are working to extend the powers of the European Union, to take away the powers of education, culture, and family affairs from the nation states.
We say no to this; we will not allow the exclusion from the Erasmus+ program to bring about legal changes in Hungary that would allow Brussels to introduce conflicts of interest against Hungarian rectors and allow international NGOs to become members of the boards of trustees of Hungarian universities,”
the Minister said.
Anyone who says they will bring the Erasmus+ program back to Hungary is saying yes to replacing Hungarian rectors and university professors, he said.
Balázs Hankó emphasized that the government stands by Hungarian universities and also stands by the six Hungarian universities that have filed lawsuits against the European Commission and the European Parliament.
The Minister noted that “there is political maneuvering here as well,” because the European Court of Justice has presumably not yet issued its ruling due to the Hungarian elections.
He added that the Vienna University of Applied Sciences has also challenged the European Commission’s decision on the grounds that the European Commission has no jurisdiction over national regulations.
The Minister said that the Pannonia program has been successful, with more than 12,000 participants.
Balázs Hankó also mentioned that the meeting touched on the issues of culture and family, and that there was agreement that families should be supported, with the Hungarian government focusing on Hungarian families and Austria focusing on Austrian families, rather than migration.
He added that, in the case of culture, the European Commission plans to launch a cultural funding program that will enable it to finance its own NGO system.
This goes against national identity and every nation for which its own culture is the most important thing, he pointed out.
Christian Hafenecker, Secretary-General of Austria’s Freedom Party, at a press conference with Hungarian Minister of Culture and Innovation Balázs Hankó at the Hungarian Embassy in Vienna. Photo: MTI/Filep István
Christian Hafenecker, Secretary General of the Austrian Freedom Party, said, among other things, that the exclusion of Hungarian universities from the Erasmus+ program is discriminatory and leads to inequality among students. This is a politically motivated act, he said.
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Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/István Filep
The post Minister Criticizes EU Over Erasmus+ University Exclusions appeared first on Hungary Today.
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