Hungary’s parliament passed a law on Tuesday that will significantly increase state control over the research, funds, and membership of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

More than two-thirds of the legislative body’s members voted in favor of the measure that will see fifteen scientific research institutes put under the direct control of the bill’s newly conceived state research network: the Eotvos Lorand Research Network (ELKH).

The draft bill was proposed by Hungary’s Minister of Innovation, Laszlo Palkovics, whose competencies will be broadened by the legislation’s appointment and fund allocation powers delegated to his office. The ELKH will be governed by a board whose 13 members will be appointed jointly by the Academy of Sciences and the Minister of Innovation, with the former controlling 6 appointments and the latter 7, including the board’s head who will cast deciding votes.

Another body the new law envisions is the National Science Policy Council, which will also be presided over by Palkovics. The council will advise the government on matters of innovation and research.

The official justification for this radical restructuring of the scientific research sector stated in the law’s text is that Hungary aims to make itself more competitive in the scientific world. The President of the Academy of Sciences, Laszlo Lovasz, however, warns that the enforcement of this law would be “against European principles of research funding and threatens academic freedom.”

The law was also criticized by Human Rights Watch, as representing “ part of the broader rule of law backslide in Hungary” and “underscores the importance of the political sanctions process against Hungary’s government triggered by the European Parliament last year under Article 7 of the EU treaty.”

The European Commission is expected to monitor these developments and assess whether it amounts to a violation of academic freedom in accordance with European principles. The law could be challenged under article 10 of Hungary’s Fundamental Law, which provides that “ Hungary shall ensure the freedom of scientific research and artistic creation, the freedom of learning for the acquisition of the highest possible level of knowledge…”

The law is expected to be signed by the President and come into force in September.