BUDAPEST—The trade union that represents Hungarian science employees has launched a campaign to protest against budgetary belt tightening that the government has imposed in recent months.
Hungary, which joined the European Union earlier this year, currently spends 1.01% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on research and development—substantially below the 1.9% average among Western European EU members.
Since 2002, the Hungarian government has repeately pledged to double research funding, but austerity measures introduced this April in an attempt to trim the state budget deficit have curtailed science spending even further.
In response, science employees are organizing a mass mail campaign protesting the cuts, the Trade Union of Science and Innovation Employees (Tudosz) announced last Tuesday (May 18).
"The most noble idea about the importance of science is fouled by the Finance Ministry's justification, which humiliates researchers by saying funding was cut in order to finance causes 'more important for society,'" ...
