Brussels opens a file to Poland and Hungary for their harassment of the LGTBI community

Brussels has decided to act before the homophobic drift of the ultra-conservative governments of Hungary and Poland.

After the pulse of recent weeks with the Executive of Viktor Orbán, the European Commission this Thursday opened a file in Budapest for the rule that prohibits the dissemination of LGTBI content in areas where there are minors, considering that it violates the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, among them, on points such as freedom of expression and non-discrimination.

The Community Executive has also opened an infringement procedure in Poland for the so-called LGTBI ideology-free zones created in several municipalities.

More information

• The rights of the LGTBI + collective, under threat in half of Europe

• The EU reopens the battle with Poland and Hungary for their authoritarian drift

The European Commission has finally decided to make a move against the harassment of the LGTBI community in Poland and Hungary. Orbán's law, inspired by a 2013 Russian regulation, has been the last straw. Brussels not only keeps the approval of its 7.2 billion euro pandemic recovery plan on hold. Now it has also decided to open a file, the first step in a process that can end in the Court of Justice of the EU. Brussels, in addition, has also decided to shorten Poland, which has flirted with the idea of ​​importing the Hungarian standard.

Legislation passed by the Hungarian Parliament prohibits the dissemination of LGTBI content in any area where there are minors. That affects schools and the media, but NGOs believe that ultimately the veto can reach the street itself. Brussels believes that this law violates four community regulations - the Audiovisual Services Directive, the Electronic Commerce Directive, the Single Market Transparency Directive and the Data Protection Directive - and violates the provision of goods and services cross-border. Brussels also warns that the Hungarian provisions violate "human dignity, freedom of expression and information, the right to respect for private life and the right to non-discrimination."

The Executive of Ursula von der Leyen has also sent a letter of formal notice to Hungary for another rule that obliges book publishers to include a disclaimer warning in books with LGTBI content stating that they include “behaviors that deviate of traditional gender roles ”.

"This amounts to restricting the right to freedom of expression and the right to non-discrimination enshrined in articles 11 and 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU," notes the Commission.

Malaise between countries

The drift of Hungary and Poland, however, threatens to spread to other countries that have also been backsliding in terms of LGTBI rights. Faced with this risk, the European Commission has finally decided to open a file in Warsaw for the hundred localities that have declared themselves areas free of LGTBI ideology. Until now, Brussels had chosen to freeze the funds earmarked for those municipalities. Von der Leyen, who had dinner with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Tuesday, had repeatedly charged against those statements. Now, the Commission has opened a file to Poland for not having provided the information that had been requested on the performance of these municipalities.

The files further deepen the gap between Brussels and the two ultra-conservative governments, just after the Polish Constitutional has refused to comply with the orders of the European justice and at the doors of the presentation of the reports on the rule of law of the EU . In the Hungarian case, the new law irritated not only the Commission, but also 17 partners who decided to sign two documents - one signed by the heads of state and government - declaring that they were willing to protect the rights of the LGTBI community. Hungary and Poland now have two months to respond to the European Commission. If your answer does not convince Brussels, the Community Executive can send them a reasoned opinion, which is the previous step to going to the CJEU.