BUDAPEST — Even as a top European Union official on Wednesday questioned the wisdom of a new Hungarian law that seemed intended to shut down a university, the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban appeared to be having second thoughts about the legislation.



Central European University, founded by the Hungarian-American financier and philanthropist George Soros, should be “able to operate in Budapest undisturbed,” said the European Union official, Frans Timmermans, first vice president of the European Commission, the union’s executive body.

The European commissioners, at their weekly meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, discussed recent laws introduced by Mr. Orban’s government, including the one involving Central European University. Mr. Timmermans said the group resolved to “consider next steps on any legal concerns by the end of April.”

The meeting came shortly after several top United States officials — including the acting State Department spokesman, Mark C. Toner — urged the Hungarian government to allow the university to operate in its present form.