Hungarian academics have mostly welcomed the country’s commitment to phasing out a controversial governance model to regain access to European Union funding but warn that its impact on academic freedom will depend on how the changes are implemented.��

The European Commission said on 29 May that it had reached a��“historic agreement”��with the country’s new prime minister, Peter Magyar, to unblock €16.4 billion (£14.1 billion) in recovery and cohesion funds that were frozen under his predecessor, Viktor Orbán, after concerns over democratic backsliding.��

The deal follows commitments by Hungary to a series of reforms, including “gradually phasing out” public interest trusts (PITs), private foundations created by Orbán that oversee many public institutions in the country, including universities.

But the release of the funds is subject to Hungary completing the agreed reforms. “We haven’t agreed to disburse the funds. We’ve agreed on a list of commitments which, if completed by August 31, will trigger the payment of those funds,” a senior commission official told .��

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The commission also said Hungarian students could return to the Erasmus student exchange programme as early as “the next academic year”.

Although��the initial statement did not explicitly address Horizon Europe – the EU’s flagship research programme – research and��innovation commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva later said����that she welcomed a commitment to “restoring Hungary’s full participation in Horizon Europe” following a meeting with Hungarian minister Zoltán Tanács.

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Viktor Lőrincz, vice-president of the Hungarian Academy Staff Forum, a body set up in 2019 to defend researchers’ interests, said the agreement was “a long-awaited step forward”.��

“The governance model based on public interest trusts has been one of the central concerns raised by the European Commission regarding institutional autonomy, conflicts of interest and accountability,” he said.��

But Lőrincz stressed that the success of the reforms would depend on how they are implemented. “Equally important will be the detailed implementing rules that the new government and the legislature will need to develop in the coming months,” he said.

He added that questions around appointments at universities, conflicts of interest and safeguards against political influence would all be integral to determining whether academic freedom would improve in practice.��

“Legal changes are important yet academic freedom depends not only on formal governance structures but also on institutional culture, transparent decision-making, predictable funding and the ability of universities and research organisations to operate without political pressure,” Lőrincz said, calling for more meaningful participation of staff and researchers.��

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Levente Kovács, rector of Óbuda University, which is overseen by a PIT, also welcomed the agreement.��

“The overall picture is rather positive, because this agreement suggests that the European Commission and the Hungarian government have moved closer in a long-running dispute,” he said. “But the real question will be how much more independent and transparent university governance structures become in practice.”

Kovács added that the agreement could improve academic freedom in the country, “especially if universities gain greater autonomy in their operations, research priorities, and international cooperation”.��

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“At the same time, academic freedom depends not only on institutional structures but also on whether critical thinking and academic work can function free from political pressure,” he said.��

Gergely Kováts, director of the Center for International Higher Education Studies and associate professor at Corvinus University of Budapest, said the decision to phase out the PIT model gradually was a sensible approach.��

“It is a wise decision to give time to the higher education sector to find a new governance framework,” he said.��

While many details remain unclear, Kováts said he expected foundation boards to be replaced, board member selection procedures to be revised and board powers reduced to meet EU requirements on academic freedom, university autonomy and anti-corruption.

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Kováts also described the return of the country to Erasmus as “some of the best news” for the Hungarian higher education sector in recent years.��

seher.asaf@timeshighereducation.com��