According to several sources, with only a few hours to go before the deadline, Germany and France joined the infringement procedure launched by the European Commission against Budapest on Thursday 6 April, by supporting the referral to the EU Court of Justice of Hungary's so-called 'anti-LGBT propaganda law'.
After Slovenia and Greece, the pair joined the European Parliament and 14 other Member States in the last minute, including Slovenia and Greece on the same day.
. While the news was greeted with relief, civil society organisations and political figures denounced, in advance, the suspense maintained by the Franco-German duo.
A lack of leaders
Passed in 2021, the law prohibits the “promotion” of homosexuality and trans-identity among minors. At the time, it provoked the indignation of several national governments, including France and Germany (see EUROPE 12746/1). In a statement, these governments had called on the Commission to mobilise all legal tools at its disposal, including referring Hungary to the EU Court of Justice.
While Slovenia joined the referral in the afternoon of Thursday 6 April, the decisions of Paris and Berlin remained pending until the evening. But for Rémy Bonny, executive director of the Forbidden Colors association, their participation is crucial.
On the one hand, while Viktor Orbán argues that “LGBTIQ rights is an invention of Brussels and that it’s spreading propaganda, we need to show as big a coalition as possible”, he argued.
Germany and France are, on the other hand, the two largest countries in the EU. Their participation may “attract other Central and Eastern European countries”, said Mr Bonny. For him, a lack of decision would have shown “very little leadership on LGBTQI rights in Europe”. According to our information, Latvia, Cyprus and Estonia have been waiting for a signal from the duo to follow suit.
The absence of Italy, the third largest country in the EU, is “not a surprise”, given the “very anti-LGBTQI policy” of the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. Last month, her government asked Milan’s town hall to stop registering children of same-sex couples, triggering the European Parliament’s disapproval (see EUROPE 13154/3).
NATO blackmail
Before this Thursday, Sweden and Finland were the latest countries to join the referral. The latter announced this on 4 April, in the wake of its inclusion in NATO (see EUROPE 13156/1). The strategy of “blackmailing Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO accession” did not work, Mr Bonny said with satisfaction, launching a “Viktor, you failed” message on Twitter.
However, while for a while his organisation thought that France and Germany were playing for time so as not to jeopardise the admission of the two countries to the Alliance, their motives for such a wait had become less clear. “In November, our [sources] told us that Emmanuel Macron had given the green light, but something has changed since his meeting with Orbán 3 weeks ago”, Mr Bonny lamented.
Still, the announcement has ultimately pleased associations and political figures committed to defending LGBTQI+ rights. “For the first time in its history, France has decided to intervene in a case before the Court of Justice. Doing so jointly with Germany sends a strong signal : the engine of Europe will never allow a single setback on the values on which the European Union is founded”, welcomed Pierre Karleskind (Renew Europe, French), vice-president of the EP's LGBTI intergroup.
As of 9.00 p.m. on Thursday, a joint statement by France and Germany was still expected. Moreover, no other government (including Latvia, Cyprus and Estonia) had officially followed suit. Member States had until midnight to decide.
On Friday morning, both the French and German governments confirmed their joint participation. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)