On Thursday 20 October, the plenary of the European Parliament adopted a motion for a resolution on the rise of hate speech and hate crimes against LGBTQI+ people. The motion for a resolution, sponsored by five political groups, follows the homophobic double murder in Bratislava on Wednesday 12 October. The text states that this was an “act of terror” motivated by far-right ideology.
The MEPs expressed concern about homophobic rhetoric, including from current and former members of the Slovak government, and called on Slovakia to make concrete progress in tackling violence against the LGBTQI+ community.
More broadly, they denounced a rise in hate crimes against LGBTQI+ people across the EU. Believing that this is the result of extremist hate speech, they condemned governments colluding with “the far right and other anti-LGBTIQ+ political parties to gain and maintain power”. Furthermore, MEPs urge the EU Council to adopt the extension of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crimes, while calling on Member States to prosecute such crimes, including those committed online.
Finally, the text points out the need to strengthen education on this subject. It considers that the EU should be involved in raising awareness and supporting grassroots organisations.
Political divisions
Adopted with 447 votes in favour, 78 against and 45 abstentions, the motion for a resolution was broadly supported by the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left groups.
Apart from its Belgian members, the ID group largely opposed or abstained. Their amendment, which mentioned that “family law matters, including marriage laws and educational matters, are the exclusive competence of the Member States”, was rejected, as was their motion for a resolution tabled by Annalisa Tardino (ID, Italian).
The results were similar for the ECR, where, apart from a few members, the majority abstained or opposed. Johan Nissinen (ECR, Swedish), who had said he was ready to “work across party lines”, finally abstained (see EUROPE 13046/10).
Slovak President concerned about democracy
Following the homophobic murders of Matúš Horváth and Juraj Vankulič in Bratislava, which have shaken Europe, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday 18 October.
“If we do not defend democracy, it will cease to exist,” she warned, stressing that hate crimes are attacks “on equality, tolerance and respect for human rights”. She also stressed the need to defend democracy on social networks, of which the business models benefit from the proliferation of “hatred, aggression and disinformation”. Finally, she warned MEPs that the economic and security crises provide “a breeding ground for extremism”.
Read the motion for a resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/3q3 (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)