The European Commission last month published its intention to launch legal proceedings against the Hungarian government over its anti-LGBT so-called ‘propaganda’ law that limits freedom of expression and visibility for the country’s LGBT+ community. The law was enacted in June 2021 and mirrors a similarly homophobic piece of legislation that has been in place in Russia since 2013. In line with the Russian law, the Hungarian version seeks to present LGBT+ advocacy as dangerous ‘propaganda’ and prohibits any visibility of that community to under-18s. The presence of LGBT+ themed materials in the vicinity of schools or churches is also prohibited.
It is worth noting a wider context here, with the European Parliament declaring in September 2022 that Hungary could no longer be regarded as a full democracy and in fact has become an ‘electoral autocracy’, citing not just the ‘propaganda’ law but also attacks on civil society more generally, press freedoms and judicial independence.
The vast majority of European Union states have spoken out strongly against the anti-LGBT+ law and the country’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, was confronted by other leaders at what was described as a particularly fraught European Council meeting in mid-2021. Joining in the chorus-of-condemnation was then Taoiseach Micheal Martin who told Orban that the measure represented a direct attack on the welfare of young people, was offensive to the values of the European Union and had clearly ‘crossed a line’.
Mr Martin had sat down with this author a week before the European summit, as part of the National LGBT Federation’s Pride Series Interviews, where the Federation’s Director (and this author) spoke with the leaders of all the main political parties about advancing LGBT+ equality against the backdrop of PRIDE and what it represents. During the interview, the now Tánaiste & Foreign Affairs Minister made clear that the Russian style law had no place in the European Union.
Other leaders were equally scathing, with the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, even raising the spectre of Orban’s Hungary leaving the European Union if it refused to adhere to basic European laws and values regarding human rights and non-discrimination.
A few weeks later, in July 2021, the European Commission formally began infringement proceedings against Budapest, stating that the anti-LGBT+ law violated numerous EU directives and articles – a situation that could only be remedied through full repeal. In light of the Orban regime’s refusal to repeal the legislation, the Commission has now moved to the next stage of the infringement process that will see the case heard before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) – the final arbiter on matters of EU law. Individual member states can also become a party to the legal proceedings and have six weeks following publication of the lawsuit to submit their observations.
A major effort, spearheaded by the pan-European LGBT+ advocacy group ‘Forbidden Colours’, is currently underway to convince national governments to do just that. The CEO of ‘Forbidden Colours’, Remy Bonny, has stated that the infringement action is on course to be the largest human rights case to ever come before the ECJ, and the campaign also includes a petition which can be accessed here. Belgium was the first country to publicly offer support, with its European Affairs Minister declaring:
"The fight against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression has always been a priority for our country. We note that the rights of the LGBTQI+ community are under increasing pressure in many places, including within Europe. That was made clear to us again last week during a meeting with, among others, human rights NGOs, which was organised at my request during my visit to Hungary."
Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal have also signed on to the lawsuit, while the Irish government publicly signalled their intention to do so along with Denmark in recent days.
The National LGBT Federation have strongly welcomed the Irish governments’ decision through the following public statement:
“This piece of state-sanctioned homophobia, modelled directly on similar legislation enacted in Putin’s Russia, flies in the face of European laws and values and has absolutely no place in our EU.”
The NGO-led campaign is confident that a majority of member states will end up joining the legal action against Hungary and believe that the ECJ will ultimately rule against the so-called ‘propaganda’ law.
Esther Martinez of Reclaim – an organisation that focuses on Rule-of-Law and civil rights issues in the EU, says such a judgment will mean, “The [Hungarian] government will have to repeal the law otherwise they will face financial fines.” There is something of a precedent when it comes to financial consequences for human rights violations, with numerous Polish municipalities repealing so-called ‘LGBT Free Zones’ that had sprung up across that country in recent years in areas controlled by the ultra-conservative ‘Law & Justice’ party. The declarations had no legal effect but were intended to convey a clear message. However, the threat of the EU funding tap being cut off for the municipalities in question was enough to force a rethink.
The Council of Europe has also recently weighed in, declaring Hungary, Poland, Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom to be ‘countries of concern’ on LGBT+ rights.
The inclusion of the UK, which raised eye-brows in some quarters, was due mainly to the well-documented rise in anti-Trans hostility and rhetoric in that country.
As for Hungary, many observers are keenly awaiting the outcome of the ECJ case, which is seen as not just limited to LGBT+ rights but about the robustness of European rules & values more generally.