BUDAPEST — Hungarian lawmakers passed legislation on Tuesday to tighten state control of research bodies run by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), overriding protests against the latest step to expand the government’s role in public life. Palkovics will now chair an 11-member council on behalf of the Academy to allocate and monitor funding. The government will manage research institutes separately, and could add new ones or close existing ones. Orban will appoint the chief of the research council based on a joint recommendation of Palkovics and the MTA chief. Academy President Laszlo Lovasz said the increase in state influence over scientific research was unacceptable and he would challenge the legislation at the Hungarian Constitutional Court.

Source: National Post July 02, 2019 11:26 UTC