Brussels (Brussels Morning) – The European Commission clarified that Hungarian researchers can participate in Horizon Europe projects despite a funding ban on over 30 institutions. Miscommunication has led to confusion and reluctance to collaborate with Hungarian partners.
The European Commission has moved to explain the right of Hungarian researchers to partake in Horizon Europe projects, amidst worries that a block on certain universities and institutions accessing EU funds is being misunderstood.
In an email, the director general of the EU Commission’s research directorate, Marc Lemaître, requested national contact points – advisers who back Horizon Europe applicants – to spread the notice that Hungarian participants can still join Horizon Europe projects.
Why Are Hungarian Institutions Banned from EU Funds?
This is even though over 30 Hungarian institutions, including 21 universities, have been banned since December 2022 from acquiring Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ funds, due to situations in their governance structure breaches rule of law principles.
The structures of the universities have gradually been rebuilt by the government over the past few years, repositioning their management to public trust foundations and putting a great deal of control in the hands of boards of trustees made up of associates who were initially hand-picked by the government.
The Hungarian government last year began a guarantee fund with an initial €12.8 million budget to wrap the participation of researchers from the concerned institutions in Horizon Europe projects.
What Impact Has the EU Ban Had on Hungarian Research?
Since the EU funding prohibition decision, there has been a reticence elsewhere in Europe to operate with Hungarian partners, even those not affected by the prohibition. The Hungarian authorities express the communication has not made it clear sufficiently that the block only links to accessing EU funds, and not to participation in EU projects.
What Misunderstandings Exist About Hungarian Participation in EU Projects?
“The Commission has always provided proper legal information on this case, but the way they were advertising this situation, informing international partners and consortia members, was quite often misleading,” stated Borbála Schenk, head of the Department for International Affairs at Hungary’s National Research Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH). She welcomed Lemaître’s message, sent out in early May, expressing that her office had been pushing for this clarification since the commencement of the situation.
How Has Miscommunication Affected Hungarian Research Partnerships?
A lot of damage has already been caused by inadequate communication, Schenk stated. The situation was worsened in April last year when a notification from the Commission was posted on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal cautioning project coordinators about the influence on funding agreements with Hungarian entities.
The notification generated widespread confusion. “In the lack of information coming from the Commission, the cloud of misinformation just grew bigger and bigger,” stated Schenk.
“Scientific partnerships that have been going on and nurtured for 10 – 15 years have been torn apart because of this situation,” she said. “We have been notified by [universities affected by the EU funding ban] that international partners are scared to partner with them, even if there is great cooperation with a long history because they are afraid that proposals will not be evaluated.”
Poor communication was not only coming from the Commission, Schenk said, but other funding experts, evaluators or project officers.
During one information webinar on a Horizon Europe partnership, Hungary’s situation was shown on a slide alongside that of Russia and Belarus. Although the text clarified the difference, “It gave the impression that they were all in the same situation,” Schenk said.
As the funding ban controversy rumbles on, Hungary is taking steps to sustain the internationalisation of its research sector. The government is supporting just over €86 million this year to fund Hungarian involvement in global programmes and domestic schemes for international collaboration. This sum is a substantial increase from previous years.
