Navracsics told Hungarian journalists that he had asked the European Commission to send a letter to the Tempus Public Foundation, which coordinates international mobility applications, reassuring university students and the authorities of EU member states that participation in the Eurasmus+ programme would go ahead.

An agreement can be reached on this issue by the summer, he said, adding that financing of the Horizon Europe and Eurasmus+ programmes would continue even after 2024.

Navracsics said that a letter of clarification had already been received from the EC explaining to the consortium partners and Hungarian universities that applications and participation in the Horizon Europe programme could continue uninterrupted. “If no agreement is reached, that would only cause a problem in the future,” he said.

Navracsics said regulations under Hungary’s new model of public foundations managing several universities were also discussed, and he said it was important to clarify how soon those universities may be included in the Erasmus and Horizon Europe programmes.

“We are now sending a consultative proposal to Brussels,” he said. Navracsics said that a dispute with the European Commission concerned the issue of conflict-of-interest regulations in respect of the membership of the boards managing universities under the new model.

“So far we have not managed to fully establish which positions are incompatible with board membership,” he added.