Consultations Underway to Ensure the Continued Eligibility of Hungarian Research for EU Funding

The renewal of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network was carried out on the basis of the HUN-REN Act adopted in December 2024, which established a new legal status for the organisation through dedicated legislation. As a result, from 27 October 2025 onwards, HUN-REN has been operating within a new legal framework: it is no longer a budgetary institution, but a legal entity with a special legal status. Its research institutes have likewise become independent legal entities, with all the attributes that such status entails. The HUN-REN Act also clearly states that, following the transformation, the research institutes are the legal successors of their predecessor institutes. The Budapest-Capital Regional Court registered HUN-REN and its research institutes in the official records as such. The transformation took place through universal legal succession, meaning that the research institutes have continued their activities without interruption, maintaining the same responsibilities and operations, as well as all associated rights and obligations. Research activities and international collaborations - including participation in EU programs - have therefore been fully preserved with complete legal continuity.

In connection with the change in legal status, the notification of data updates related to EU grant applications is a technical and administrative step. The competent bodies of the European Commission must ensure that these data changes are processed and handled appropriately.

Both HUN-REN and all of its research institutes initiated the amendment of their legal data immediately after the new organisational form was entered into the court register, following the standard procedure with the competent body of the European Commission, the Central Validation Service (CVS). The European Commission’s final decision on this matter is still pending.

In recent weeks, HUN-REN’s leadership has held several rounds of consultation with the European Commission’s Central Validation Service (CVS) unit in order to facilitate a prompt decision. The research institutes themselves have also been, and remain, in contact with Brussels. Throughout the process, the Hungarian side has consistently emphasised that the operation and activities of the research institutes have remained fully continuous. Under the law, their legal personality and universal legal succession - with all the characteristics that entails - are clear and indisputable. Their work has continued accordingly, and the transition to the new legal form has in no way affected their activities, research responsibilities, or tasks.

The CVS has promised to provide a prompt decision and guidance in order to ensure the continued participation of the research institutes in EU-funded grant programs. HUN-REN is unable to understand why, despite multiple rounds of in-person and written consultations in recent months, and notwithstanding the clear legal situation, the CVS has still not reached a decision in this matter. This ongoing delay is causing significant uncertainty across the entire research network regarding participation in European grant programs. HUN-REN therefore continues to urge the Commission to adopt a decision as soon as possible, in full accordance with the Hungarian legal framework.

For HUN-REN’s leadership and all of its research institutes, the swift completion of the European validation process and the related technical update is a top priority. This is essential to ensure that Hungarian research institutes can continue to participate without disruption in the Horizon Europe Research Framework Program and other EU-funded scientific and research grant schemes.