Euro 2020 Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic through — Scotland out
In total, 13 member states out of 27 voiced their disapproval of the Hungarian law.
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Euro 2020 Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic through — Scotland out
Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg led the charge against Hungary's anti-LGBT law on Tuesday as European affairs ministers from the 27 EU countries met to discuss the rule of law.
In total, 13 member states out of 27 voiced their disapproval of the Hungarian law.
Last week, the Hungarian parliament passed a new law tabled by the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that bans the portrayal of homosexuality and sex reassignment in school education material and TV programmes addressed to people under 18 years of age.
The outrage over the Hungarian law was discussed by the EU Council on Tuesday afternoon, with the Benelux ministers gathering linked-minded countries in a critical statement against the legislation.
Following behind-the-scenes consultations, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden and Latvia endorsed the Benelux text.
"[The law] represents a flagrant form of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and hence deserves to be condemned. Inclusion, human dignity and equality are core values of our European Union, and we cannot compromise on these principles," the countries said.
Passed in 2000, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is today a primary source of EU law at the same level as the EU treaties. The Charter's article 21 prohibits any kind of discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation.
The signatories call on the European Commission to "use all tools at its disposal to ensure full respect of EU law, including by referring the matter to the [European Court of Justice]".
"We stand to protect the rights of all EU citizens," they conclude.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already expressed her concern about the Hungarian law and said her executive was in the process of assessing the legality of the text.
"I believe in a Europe which embraces diversity, not one which hides it from our children," she wrote. Von der Leyen is a long-standing advocate of LGBT+ rights. Last year, her Commission passed the first-ever EU strategy on LGBTIQ equality.
Reacting to Benelux-led statement, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's Foreign Affairs Minister, dismissed all negative opinions and asked critics to read the law in full.
"This law is not against any community in Hungary," Szijjártó said before the ministers' meeting.
"This law is against all the paedophiles so this law makes it very clear that the children must be protected and that's why this law makes it very clear that paedophile crimes must be punished in a very, very serious way.
"On the other hand, the law protects the children in a way that it makes it an exclusive right of the parents to educate their kids regarding sexual orientation until the age of 18. So this law doesn't say anything about sexual orientation of adults."
The conflation between the LGBT community and paedophiles has been harshly denounced by human rights experts and civil society for perpetuating damaging stereotypes.
"Associating paedophilia with LGBT people, banning comprehensive sexuality education and stifling free speech is despicable and unworthy of an EU member state," Lydia Gall, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch wrote on Twitter.
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