Open Letter to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium
H.E. Mr. Bart De Wever
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium
Rue de la Loi 16
1000 Brussels, Belgium
Budapest, May 14, 2025
Dear Prime Minister,
As Chairman of the Board of Mathias Corvinus Collegium—one of Central Europe’s largest talent development institutions—I am writing to express my deep concern over recent efforts to intimidate an academic conference organized by MCC Brussels.
Far-left activists targeted the original venue with threats and vandalism, forcing the organizers to relocate the event at the last minute. These tactics are a troubling reminder of the political coercion once experienced in Hungary under communism.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Similar pressure was exerted during last year’s National Conservatism Conference, where elected officials and scholars were met with hostility aimed at silencing dissenting, conservative voices. In that case, the district mayor issued an administrative order to prohibit the conference, citing “public safety”—a decision that was ultimately overturned by Belgium’s supreme administrative court in a decisive, emergency late-night ruling.
Former Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, along with other European leaders, rightly condemned the attempted shutdown of that event and reaffirmed the importance of freedom of speech. Yet recent developments suggest the situation in Brussels is deteriorating further. It is deeply troubling that extraordinary measures were once again necessary to ensure a lawful, peaceful academic gathering could proceed.
In both instances, those who claim to defend democracy and human rights acted, in practice, to suppress open debate. These actions reflect an alarming trend toward the selective application of free expression.
Europe’s democratic tradition—rooted in pluralism, intellectual openness, and civil discourse—depends on the protection of all voices. When the freedom to speak is made contingent upon ideological conformity, it ceases to be freedom in any meaningful sense.
At Mathias Corvinus Collegium, we remain firmly committed to open dialogue—even with those with whom we strongly disagree. That commitment lies at the heart of both academic life and democratic society. It is not unreasonable to expect the same standard from those in Europe who profess to uphold these values. We owe it to future generations to preserve intellectual integrity and to stand courageously by the principles we teach.
The encroachment of cancel culture into Brussels—the symbolic and political heart of the European Union—should concern anyone who values liberty.
I urge you, Prime Minister, to take a firm and principled stand in defense of freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. These are not merely matters of public policy, but of democratic integrity and responsible leadership.
Freedom is our most precious possession—which is why we must not give in to bullying.
Sincerely,
Balázs Orbán
Chairman of the Board of Mathias Corvinus Collegium
