Privatisation of Hungarian research centres raises fears for Horizon Europe eligibility

Hungary’s government is planning to privatise its leading research centres, raising fears of political control that could make them ineligible for Horizon Europe funding. 

Budapest is already locked in a dispute with Brussels over the privatisation of universities, which has led to 21 of them being blocked from receiving money, although academics based there can still participate in Horizon projects.

Now, Budapest has set out a draft law to reform the Hungarian Research Network, comprising 18 centres and institutes across the country, that critics say will also hand power to allies of prime minister Victor Orban. 

“These amendments are worrisome, as the research network may not be able to be a beneficiary of Horizon Europe,” said MEP Eszter Lakos, from Hungary’s opposition Respect and Freedom Party.

“Of course we need to wait for the European Commission's assessment first, but given the desire for control in the ruling party, I am afraid we are again witnessing a reckless move that will cost Hungarian beneficiaries dearly, while benefit[ing] the state party,” she said. 

The Commission for now isn’t saying anything concrete. “We cannot comment on draft laws,” a spokesperson said. “We are following all developments, and we expect that all national R&I reforms comply with the Treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the values and principles agreed by the member states in the Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe.” 

Hungary’s government unveiled the reform bill in early November following a review of the centres this year. It’s subsequently been amended after feedback from the network’s leadership, which is on board with the changes. 

The reforms will make the centres more focused on applied research, says the network’s leadership, and offer internationally competitive salaries. The government has promised researchers a 50% salary increase next year, said the network president, Balázs Gulyás, who was appointed by Orban at the beginning of 2023. 

Power grab

But critical academic groups see the move as a further power grab by Orban’s ruling Fidesz party. The Hungarian government has already evicted the vast majority of the Central European University, set up to defend liberal values in post-communist Europe, a move the European Court of Justice later ruled was illegal. In 2018 the university was forced to decamp to Vienna. 

“The Orban regime is like a shark in the sea,” said Márton Zászkaliczky, one of the founders of the Hungarian Academy Staff Forum (HASF). “They have to keep swimming [or] they die.” 

According to HASF’s analysis of the proposed law, as with the reforms to universities, the research network will be owned and managed by a “private-quasi foundation”, whose head will be appointed by Orban.

The governing board, after six years, will appoint its own replacements, “hence the system is isolated, biased, and liable to maintain a continuous political affiliation,” HASF argues. 

“About half of the draft law is identical to the private foundation law that regulates private universities,” HASF says. 

Control by political appointees creates a number of obvious problems, HASF warns. First of all, it could prevent researchers from speaking out against the ruling party, with the chief executive free to dismiss any staff member. 

Privatisation would also exempt the research institutions from public procurement rules and public accounting of its assets, raising the risk of corruption. Zászkaliczky fears the changes will turn the research centres into a source of patronage for political allies. 

The move isn’t necessarily about silencing critical academics within the network, said Istvan Kenesei, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, who has been critical of the changes.

Instead, the Orban government simply has a “primeval fear” of “autonomous agents”, he argued. What’s more, academics and opposition MPs will be less able to ask questions about the functioning of the research network when it’s a private enterprise, he added. 

Some academics in the network “dread” the changes, he said, “although there are quite a few who don't care” due to the promised salary increases. 

Network responds

The network – previously called the Eötvös Loránd Research Network until a name change last year - has publicly rebutted HASF’s criticisms of the reforms, insisting that it only partially overlaps with the university legislation. “There is no overlap in governance structure, leadership powers, or organisational structure,” it has said. 

It also argues that staff were widely consulted through employee forums, and that the new governing board will have a majority of academics on it. 

But it doesn’t directly address concerns about the role of the government in appointing key figures in the new management.

The network didn’t respond to a request for comment from Science|Business. Asked for comment, the Hungarian government forwarded the text of a news article about the changes, but didn’t directly respond to questions about political control or the risk to Horizon Europe funds. 

Orban allies

It was the fear of political control over universities that prompted the Commission in 2023 to cut off Horizon Europe funds. 

One Commission report in 2022 estimated that over 70% of the new board members selected to run the country’s newly privatisated universities “have links to the current government or personally to the prime minister”, such as current or former ministers, members of parliament, members of pro-government groups, and even relatives.

Less than a quarter of board members were academics. Nineteen out of 21 universities had government-linked majority boards, it found. 

Budapest has sought to mollify the Commission with various changes to the law, like removing cabinet ministers from university boards. But Brussels has not budged, and critical academics like Zászkaliczky say the changes do not go nearly far enough.