Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban informed the EU’s center-right political group   that his government would reconsider measures that were perceived by his own political family as an ‘attack on academic freedom.’ The pressure on Orban mounted after the visit of US financial wizard and philantropist George Soros to the European Commission.

“Prime Minister Orban committed himself in the EPP council to follow and implement all the demands of the European Commission within the deadline set by the Commission,” a spokesman of the European People’s Party (EPP) told reporters.

While emphasizing that the government does not want to close the CEU, Orban’s spokesman Bertalan Havasi told the Hungarian state news agency MTI the university should not “enjoy special privileges” even if the Hungarian government is ready to cooperate with the Commission. The major request to the foreign establishments is transparency, according to Orban copied from the US legislation.