On Monday 12 October, Clément Beaune, the French Minister of State for European Affairs, and Elisabeth Moreno, the French Minister Delegate for Gender Equality, called on the European Commission to “act more rapidly and more forcefully” to protect the rights of LGBTI people.
In a letter addressed to Věra Jourová, the Vice-President of the Commission, and to Commissioners Helena Dalli and Didier Reynders, Moreno and Beaune gave an assurance that France will stand “alongside” the Commission in support of its 2020-2025 strategy for equal treatment for LGBTI people, a strategy that is due to be unveiled during the week beginning 9 November.
In their letter, the French Minister of State and Minister Delegate state that the position of LGBTI people remains “of serious concern”. They are alarmed by the results of the latest report on the issue by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (see EUROPE 12488/18), and make particular reference to the resolutions passed by a number of Polish municipalities regarding “LGBT ideology-free zones” (see EUROPE 12393/13).
The French government welcomes the Commission’s recent decision to deny some of these municipalities access to a community programme (see EUROPE 12538/16), and calls for the “immediate” identification of instruments that can be mobilised at European level to sanction non-compliance with LGBTI rights.
Finally, Moreno and Beaune urge the Commission to present its proposal to extend the EU’s list of offences “to all forms of hate crime and hate speech based on origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity”.
The letter (in French) can be found at: https://bit.ly/3514xdf (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)