EU countries condemn Hungary’s attempt to ban Pride events

Brussels (dpa) – Seventeen EU countries have expressed their deep concerns about attempts by the Hungarian government to prevent the annual Pride celebrations in Budapest from going ahead.

Recent legal changes infringe the “fundamental rights of LGTBIQ+ persons,” the signatory nations say in a joint statement published on Tuesday.

The statement was signed by Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.

In March, Hungary’s parliament banned the annual Pride parades, which advocate for trans and sexual minority rights, among other things.

Participants face potential fines of up to 200,000 forints (almost 500 Euro) for violating the ban, with authorities planning to use facial recognition technology to identify marchers. Both organisers and attendees could be penalized under the new law.

The government had justified the ban on Pride parades, above all, with the aim of “protecting” children from contact with the topic of homosexuality.

In April, the Hungarian parliament enshrined in the country’s constitution that a person can only be defined as either a man or a woman.

“We are concerned by the implications of these measures on freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to privacy,” the joint statement from the EU countries read.

The signatories urged Hungary to revise the legal changes and called on the European Commission to take action against the country, which has been at odds with Brussels over rule-of-law concerns for years. (27 May)