Verbatim report of proceedings

Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - Brussels

Situation in Hungary (debate)

  György Schöpflin (PPE), in writing. – Those who defend the CEU in this debate in the name of university autonomy should be aware of how this autonomy works in practice. Obviously, autonomy functions within the law. Each Member State has its own legal order governing universities. Second, accreditation, research assessment, teaching quality measurement are all directed by the state and set often stringent limits to university autonomy. Third, the internal administration of universities imposes strict limits on the freedom of what can be taught. The criterion is student numbers. If there aren’t enough, the course will be cut. Fourth, research, especially in the natural sciences, is heavily subsidised by the relevant private sector, again a restriction on autonomy. Finally, if a university is supported by taxpayers’ money – and almost all are – then that too is a limit to autonomy. After all, the duty to be accountable functions as a restriction. So don’t be carried away by romantic ideas of university autonomy. It has never existed.