The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen threatened on Wednesday to launch an infringement procedure against Hungary if she did not reverse its law accused of discriminating against LGBT people (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender), which must enter into force Thursday.
“If Hungary does not correct the situation, the Commission will use the powers conferred on it as guardian of the treaties,” the German official told the European Parliament. She again qualified as “shame” this law prohibiting the dissemination of content on homosexuality to minors.
“We make use of these powers regardless of the Member State which infringes the law”
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 financial sanctions. A letter of formal notice should be sent no later than mid-July, we learned from a European source. At the end of June, the Commission sent a first letter to the Hungarian authorities to express its “legal concerns” on the text adopted on June 15, which aroused the indignation of European leaders.
“Let us be clear, we use these powers regardless of the Member State which infringes European law,” stressed Ursula von der Leyen. Since the start of my mandate, we have initiated some 40 infringement proceedings relating to the protection of the rule of law and other European values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty. “