The Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU failed, on Thursday 6 December at the Employment and Social Policy Council, to find a consensus among Member States on the conclusions on gender and youth equality in the face of digitisation, encountering opposition from Hungary and Poland due to the mention of LGBTQI.
These conclusions are part of the annual review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action's Platform for Action by the European Union and its Member States, which aims to achieve, inter alia, gender equality and ensure the empowerment of women and, in this case, to better combat the increase in stereotypical attacks against young people and women, and to improve access to digital skills.
Problem: During the negotiations, the Austrian Presidency of the EU Council introduced the acronym LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) in the conclusions, which Hungary and Poland opposed.
In preparation for the Council, the Austrian Presidency thus deleted the reference to LGBTQI, causing a sling during the round table from all the other Member States (except Italy, which remained very vague), led by the Netherlands. In response to the outcry, the Austrian Presidency quickly circulated a new version of the conclusions among delegations, including the mention of LGBTQI.
The Austrian proposal found support from 26 Member States, except Poland and Hungary. At the end of the discussions, Hungary took the floor again to justify its position: the text focused on gender discrimination and not on sexual discrimination.
Noting with regret the lack of consensus, the Presidency endorsed the conclusions.
The blockage was expected. That very morning, 19 Member States signed a joint declaration to launch a series of actions to combat discrimination against LGBTQI persons.
This event recalls the October Justice Council, where Poland and Hungary blocked conclusions on the implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU for similar reasons (see EUROPE 12115). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)