The Hungarian law aimed at banning all advertising, editorial and educational content depicting homosexuality to children under 18 (see EUROPE 12747/7) came into force on Wednesday 7 July. The European Parliament’s four-hour debate that morning - on the conclusions of the last European Council (see EUROPE 12748/1) and then on the Rule of law in Poland and Hungary - focused on this topic.
“No item on the agenda [of the last European Council] was as important”, “LGBTI rights are not a marginal issue”, stressed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel in their introduction, setting the tone for the debate to follow.
Ms von der Leyen again called the law a “disgrace” (see EUROPE 12747/7): the expression was taken up in the same breath by both the EPP Chair Manfred Weber (Germany) and The Left Co-Chair Manon Aubry (France).
“Do your job”
But, beyond the text itself - which had already provoked strong reactions in Parliament - it was the inaction of the EU27 that was singled out during the debate.
“Let’s be honest, we saw this coming”, argued The Left Coordinator and Co-President of the LGBTI intergroup in the European Parliament, Malin Björk (Sweden), about the legislation. “It makes the inaction by the other EU governments and the Commission even more unacceptable”, she said.
Referring to the condemnations made by EU leaders and ministers in recent weeks, Dutch MEP Jeroen Lenaers called on the EPP to ensure that these reactions were not “an isolated event” and that words were followed by action.
“Discussions behind closed doors are all very well, but where are the conclusions, where are the recommendations, the vote, to eventually get the sanctions? Please do your job!”, insisted her compatriot Liesje Schreinemacher, for Renew Europe.
This observation was also shared by the Socialist Coordinator, Iratxe García Pérez (Spain), who called for the unblocking of negotiations in the EU Council on the Directive on equal treatment (see EUROPE 12740/19).
Infringement proceeding, “if necessary”
“If Hungary does not correct the situation, the Commission will use its powers as guardian of the treaties”, Ursula von der Leyen promised MEPs, recalling that a warning had already been sent to the Hungarian government (see EUROPE 12747/7).
The President hinted that the Commission would not hesitate to launch an infringement proceeding against Hungary, recalling that “some 40 infringement procedures related to the protection of the Rule of law” and discrimination cases had been launched since the beginning of her mandate. Others will follow, “if necessary”, she added.
On Thursday 8 July, MEPs are expected to adopt a resolution condemning the Hungarian initiative and making a list of recommendations to the Commission and EU Council. The text, supported by S&D, Renew Europe Greens/EFA and The Left, was also joined by the EPP at the last minute.
The five groups express, among other things, “serious concerns” about the compliance of the draft Hungarian Recovery and Resilience Plan with the relevant EU rules. They ask the Commission and the EU Council “to only approve the plan if it is established that it would not contribute to implementing the Law, and subsequently lead to the EU budget actively contributing to breaches of fundamental rights in Hungary”.
Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová confirmed that the plan was still under consideration and that there was no question of stopping the assessment for the time being (see other news).
Vote on Article 7 against Hungary
MEPs also returned to the debate on the state of play of the so-called ‘Article 7’ procedures of the Treaty, launched respectively in 2017 and 2018 against Poland and Hungary, while two new hearings took place at the end of June.
Several MEPs reiterated the call for the Council of the EU to hold a vote to establish the clear risk of violation of the EU’s fundamental values and to issue recommendations, including the repeal of the controversial law.
The Renew Europe group wants this recommendation to be implemented by December and for the Commission and the Council of the EU to implement the sanctions phase provided for in Article 7, if this law is not repealed, including the suspension of Hungary’s voting rights in the EU Council.
Věra Jourová reminded MEPs that the move to sanctions would require unanimity, as the Treaty is very “clear” on this. Satisfied that the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council had relaunched the hearing processes, she also said that she had suggested to the Slovenian and French Presidencies of the EU Council that they should proceed to a vote and “follow through up to recommendations”.
The Slovenian Foreign Minister, Anže Logar, stressed that the Presidency had a duty “to encourage and ensure respect for our common values” and recalled that Article 7 was on the Presidency’s agenda, without giving further details.
More recommendations on this topic were also made in the resolution carried by the five parliamentary groups (see EUROPE 12756/2).
To consult it: https://bit.ly/2VePVFR (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki and Solenn Paulic)