The European Union will “defend” its “values” and act against Hungarian law deemed discriminatory against LGBT people, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen assured Friday after a summit where this legislation sparked an uproar. “This new Hungarian law is clearly discriminatory, and as befits a democracy, we will fight against it, using the legal instruments at our disposal,” the German said at a press conference.
“Yesterday most of us were very clear that this new Hungarian law goes against our values. […] There was overwhelming support for the idea that we are going to defend our values, ”continued the head of the European executive. “At the Commission, we have examined this law in depth, and we have written to the Hungarian government to set out in detail our legal concerns,” she recalled. The Commission has given Hungary until June 30 to respond.
The EU Court of Justice could be referred
“There are additional steps that can then be taken. It depends on how Hungary reacts, ”the official said. Brussels can open an infringement procedure for violation of European law, which can lead to a referral to the Court of Justice of the EU and to sanctions. At his side, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union until the end of the month, said that “one cannot be a member of the EU if the we do not respect and accept its values ”.
In a heated debate on Thursday, most European leaders blasted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the controversial law. The Dutchman Mark Rutte even suggested that he activate Article 50 of the Treaty to leave the EU – as the British did – if the values of the EU did not suit him.
Xavier Bettel’s testimony
A perspective dismissed by Ursula von der Leyen: “in Hungary there are ten million inhabitants and I am firmly convinced that there are ten million good reasons for Hungary to be and remain a member of the European Union” , she stressed. She described the discussion among the leaders as “factual, and at the same time very personal and emotional”.
During the debate, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, married to a man, shared his personal experience by addressing his Hungarian counterpart. He recalled a dinner spent with her husband and the sovereignist leader in Budapest several years ago, lamenting that it was “not the same Viktor Orban”. “It disappointed me a lot and I told him so […] it’s sad ”, explained Friday Xavier Bettel, who had stressed the day before that“ to accept oneself [en tant qu’homosexuel], it’s already very hard to be stigmatized, it goes very far ”.