The Academy stands by its independence and the freedom of research

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences demands that the proposed amendment of the Law on the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Law on the 2019 state budget be withdrawn from voting in Parliament, since these amendments were prepared without prior consultation with the Academy – this was one of the resolutions unanimously accepted by the Presidium of the Academy during its extraordinary session on 15 June. The resolution was submitted to the Presidium (i.e. the main decision-making body of the Academy between two general assemblies) by President László Lovász. The session was also attended by the heads of the MTA research institutions.

17 June, 2018

The Government of Hungary has recently established a Ministry for Innovation and Technology responsible for the centralised management of national science policy. The Hungarian Academy of Sciences supports the Government’s ambition for more efficient innovation and science policy and has already made considerable efforts to maintain this initiative.

In an email sent on 12 June 2018, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology informed the Hungarian Academy of Sciences about the proposed amendment of the XL 1994 Law on the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and requested the Academy deliver its opinion and respond within an unrealistically short deadline.

The proposal has paved the way for the government initiative to redirect the research and development funds of the research network of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to the budget of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology.

As outlined in the state budget framework presented by the Ministry of Finance on 13 June, 28 billion forints (87.5 million euros) out of the total amount of 40 billion forints (125 million euros) allocated to the division of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in the state budget would be transferred to the division of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology in 2019. About 20 billion forints (77.5 million euros) of this sum consists of labour and operational costs related to the core activities of the Academy, and are unconnected to any actual research priorities.

The proposed amendment submitted without prior consultation with the Academy, undoubtedly and fundamentally reshapes the operational conditions of the Academy’s research network. During its meeting on 12 June, the Governing Board of the Academy adopted a resolution with a firm position that was sent to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and other members of the Hungarian Government.

The President of the Academy called for an extraordinary session of the Presidium of the Academy to be held on 15 June. We are hereby publishing the unanimously adopted resolution by the Presidium below:

Resolution of the Presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on 15 June 2018

The Presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) supports and endorses the resolution of the MTA Governing Board which states that the Hungarian Academy of Sciences respects and defends its rights described in the Fundamental Law of Hungary. Article X of the Section entitled “Freedom and Responsibility” of the Fundamental Law defines and protects the freedom of scientific research and recognises the autonomy of the public body and ancillary institutions of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences as a prerequisite for the performance of their public duties.

The Presidium is in agreement with the opinions expressed by the President of the Academy, and endorses the following statements:

The proposals for the amendment of the Law on the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Law on the State Budget of Hungary for 2019 were prepared without prior consultation with the Academy. The Presidium requests that the aforementioned proposals not be submitted for voting to the Parliament, in order to allow time for consultation.
Regular labour and operational costs related to the core activities of the research network of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences are independent of research priorities, thus should remain part of the Academy’s annual budget.
Funding for bottom-up, discovery research should not be scaled down, considering this is a key role of the Academy’s function.
Decisions on research priorities of the Academy’s institutions, the form and distribution of funding in accordance with these priorities, and the appointment of directors and principal investigators of research institutions should continue under procedures currently applied by the Academy.
It is essential that the evaluation and selection of scientific proposals continue to be managed by committees of the Academy made up of the relevant leading experts.
Calls for proposals in the respective fields of basic research and applied research should be handled separately. In the case of basic research, all scientific fields must be given equal opportunities. In the selection process, excellence measured by international standards should be the sole criterion for funding.

The Presidium calls upon the President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to hold talks with the representatives of the Government of Hungary under the above terms.

The Presidium calls upon the President of the Academy to convene an extraordinary General Assembly should Government actions or proposals threaten to undermine critical activities of the Academy.

The President of the Academy will report to the Presidium about the course of the negotiations during its next session on 26 June.

Chief officials and governing bodies of the Academy are ready to prepare a proposal of co-operation that would fit in with the Government concept outlined by the Ministry of Science and Technology while also taking into account and respecting the integrity of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.