Deutsch: ‘Dollar left seeking to block Hungarian university students’ study opportunities’
In a video, Deutsch noted that the plenary session of the European Parliament adopted a proposal on the EU’s Erasmus programme that included “an amendment with a shocking content” submitted prior to the vote by Momentum MEPs Katalin Cseh and Anna Donath. “They initiated that Hungarian students should not have access to the EU’s education and scientific programmes,” he said, adding that “Hungarian students and professors have the right to know this”.
The plenary session adopted a report about the implementation of the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 programme and related challenges. It also adopted an amendment submitted by a group of Renew Europe MEPs including Donath, Cseh and France’s Laurence Farreng and Germany’s Moritz Korner. The amendment calls on the Hungarian government to observe the rule of law and basic EU values and to implement reforms required for Hungarian participation in the Erasmus+ schemes.
The plenary however voted against another amendment submitted by MEPs of Fidesz, the allied ruling Christian Democrats and Romania’s ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party. The amendment called for “fair, lawful and transparent procedures agreed on with the European Commission that allow Hungarian students, teachers and researchers to fully benefit from the Erasmus+ programme”.
In their statement, the Fidesz MEPs said that “initiated by the dollar left’s MEPs, the EP continues its political blackmail by unlawfully withholding EU funds Hungarian students, researchers and professors are entitled to”.