(ANSA) - TRIESTE - Hungarian government proposed new legislation to regulate foreign universities that a Budapest college founded by American financier and philanthropist George Soros says could force it out of the country, Reuters reported.

Central European University (Ceu), a stalwart of liberal international education in Hungary, affirmed that the bill was unacceptable and that it threatened academic freedom in Hungary.

Ceu's rector Michael Ignatieff met the Education minister and demanded the bill be withdrawn, but the government answered that it would not delete the proposal. The bill required Ceu to operate a campus in its home state of New York, but the English-language Ceu is the only foreign university in Hungary that has not a home campus already.

Hungarian government said that several universities are operating "illegally" in Hungary, adding that it will make more difficult for institutions registered outside the European Union to issue diplomas and degrees in Hungary. Orban has criticized organizations funded by Soros, saying that Ngos that receive funding from abroad meddle in Hungarian affairs. Ignatieff declared that "we are in full conformity with Hungarian law. We will never close this university no matter what. We have done nothing wrong. The claim that we do not have program accreditation is entirely false. Our master's and doctoral programs are accredited with the Hungarian authorities as well as by the State of New York. This legislation is targeted at one institution and one institution only". (ANSA).