23/09/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 23 September. the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament welcomed the decision of the Polish voivodeship of Swietokrzyskie to abandon its status as a locality declared “free of LGBTI ideology” or an “LGBTI-free zone” - a status adopted by many Polish localities since 2019. The group called on the localities concerned to follow Swietokrzyskie’s example. “Homophobia and transphobia do not have a place in Europe”, insisted Pierre Karleskind (France), adding that it was unthinkable that localities undermining the EU’s fundamental values could continue to benefit from EU budget subsidies. In early September, the European Commission asked five Polish regional councils to abandon their anti-LGBTI policies (see EUROPE 12784/18). A few months earlier, it had opened infringement proceedings against Poland in this respect (see EUROPE 12763/1). (AC)