Voices are being raised within some European institutions to condemn the adoption of amendments by the Hungarian national parliament on Tuesday 15 June, which they consider to be blatantly discriminatory towards LGBTI people.
These amendments to a bill aimed at combating child abuse were tabled by the ruling Fidesz party.
They demand that any media content that “propagates homosexuality or portrays it” should not be shown to children under 18, and that advertisements that show “diversion from one’s biological sex, change of gender, propagates or portrays homosexuality” should not be accessible to those under 18, according to Amnesty International.
The amendments also aim to prevent the issue of “sexual orientation” from being discussed in schools, unless it is done in the context of courses that respect Hungary’s “constitutional identity” and Christian culture.
For theInternational Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA - Europe), these provisions, which will be introduced into Hungarian legislation on media, commercial advertising activities and family protection, constitute “a clear violation” of the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the right to freedom to provide services and free movement of goods “as defined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”.
The same fears were expressed by the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights, whose co-chairs also denounced the silence of the European Commission. The Renew Europe, S&D, Greens/EFA and The Left groups have also publicly voiced their support for the Hungarian LGBTI community and pleaded for the European institutions to do more.
The European Commission holds back
When asked on Wednesday 16 June about the compatibility of these amendments with European law, the Commission spokespeople did not wish to react and simply repeated that a more detailed analysis of the amendments would be necessary before the Commission could give its opinion on the subject.
“What we’ll do will depend on what we find out”, insisted the institution’s spokesperson, Dana Spinant.
During a press conference on Monday, EU Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli was also asked about the compatibility of the Hungarian initiative with the EU strategy for LGBTI rights (see EUROPE 12600/23). No clear answer there either. However, the Commissioner was pleased to note that on the same day in the EU Council there was a degree of “unanimity with regard to our strategy and how every Member State is working on having their own strategy and implementing this strategy”.
On the EU Council side, the issue should be brought to the table as early as next week. The Benelux ministers, who are “very concerned”, will present a joint declaration at the General Affairs Council scheduled for next Tuesday. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)