EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that the EU will take action against the homophobic law passed by the Hungarian parliament. The law provides for the restriction of the information rights of young people with regard to homosexuality and transsexuality. Von der Leyen called the law “a shame” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/. “The law discriminates against people based on their sexual orientation. It violates fundamental values of the European Union: human dignity, equality and respect for human rights . We do not compromise on these principles, “von der Leyen continued.
She therefore asked the responsible commissioners to send a letter to express the EU Commission’s legal concerns before the law comes into force. Von der Leyen announced that she would use everything in the power of the Commission to protect the rights of EU citizens. This de facto threatens von der Leyen with infringement proceedings.
Previously, 14 EU states, including Germany, had demanded that the EU Commission take decisive action against the law. As the “guardian of the treaties”, the EU Commission must use all means at its disposal to ensure compliance with EU law, according to a statement published on Tuesday. This also includes bringing the case to the European Court of Justice.
The law approved by the Hungarian Parliament on Tuesday last week includes a ban on books, films and other media that are accessible to children and young people and that depict sexuality that differs from heterosexual ones. In addition, advertising should be banned in which homosexuals or transsexuals appear as part of normality. The law is a particular concern of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whom critics accuse of stirring up prejudice against minorities. Critics see this as an effort to introduce homophobic censorship based on the Russian model in the EU country Hungary.