Advertisement

EU executive to meet Soros amid spat with Hungary over university

Business magnate George Soros arrives to speak at the Open Russia Club in London, Britain June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The head of the European Union's executive arm will meet U.S. financier George Soros next Thursday, a spokeswoman said, as part of consultations on a new Hungarian law that has threatened to force the closure of a university he funds. The Central European University is at the heart of the latest dispute between Hungary and the European Commission in Brussels, which voices concern in many Western EU states that Budapest is infringing on rule of law and democratic standards. The Commission's spokeswoman on Wednesday said its deputy head Frans Timmermans and two other commissioners will also meet Soros next week, after Brussels already threatened Hungary with legal action over rights issues and the Soros school. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel)