The Hungarian draft law stigmatising the LGBTI community was the subject of a lively and “frank” informal discussion between EU Heads of State and Government on Thursday 24 June, after having sparked a wave of indignation in the European Union.
All but the Slovenian and Polish leaders found the initiative to ban advertising, editorial and educational content “promoting” homosexuality and identification as transgender to persons under 18 years of age unacceptable (see EUROPE 12747/7).
The leaders voiced their criticism to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “in language” that his Belgian counterpart, Alexander De Croo, said he had never heard in such a forum. At least not since his assumption of power in October.
“In my opinion, this is the first time there has been a confrontation of this kind”, he insisted at a press conference after the meeting.
When they arrived in Brussels, most of the leaders assured that they would be firm on the issue, saying that Hungary had “gone too far”.
The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, in particular, did not hesitate to repeat to Mr Orbán in camera what he had already said publicly in the afternoon, suggesting that Hungary should leave the Union if it could not respect its values.
Weak defence
Before joining the other leaders, the Hungarian Prime Minister had justified the draft law, saying it aimed to “defend the rights of children and their parents” and that it was “not about homosexuality”.
A defence that contradicts the justifications he put forward the week before (see EUROPE 12743/24).
He was apparently no more convincing in front of his peers than in front of journalists. Mr De Croo said that the justifications put forward during the meeting had been “rather weak” and did not “answer the criticism”.
Infringement proceedings
On Thursday morning, even before their arrival at the European Council, the leaders of 17 States (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, and Austria) had signed a letter on the subject—a letter addressed to the Presidents of the European Council, the Council of the EU, and the Commission, on the initiative of Xavier Bettel from Luxembourg. At the summit he spoke about the difficulties that LGBTI people face in their daily lives, sharing his own experience.
The signatories pledged to “continue fighting against discrimination towards the LGBTI community” and to “carry on with this effort, making sure that future European generations grow up in an atmosphere of equality and respect”.
On the eve of the summit, the European Commission sent a letter to the Hungarian government stating that the draft law was incompatible with several European legal provisions—including Article 2 of the EU Treaty on the respect of human rights and non-discrimination (see EUROPE 12747/7). Its President, Ursula von der Leyen, made it clear at the meeting that an infringement proceeding would be launched. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)