After Hungary Bans LGBTQ Pride Parades, 17 E.U. Countries Issue Protest

Seventeen European Union countries pressured the European Commission to respond to Hungary’s passing of anti-LGBTQ rights policies.

Hungary passed laws in March that make it legal to ban Pride marches as well as authorize the police to use facial recognition to identify individuals participating in the marches. In April, the Hungarian government approved legislation changes that only recognize male and female sexes.

With Pride Month approaching, as well as Pride celebrations, E.U. countries wrote and signed a letter to the Commission, persuading them to intervene and criticizing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for his anti-LGBTQ+ stances.

Orbán is a close ally of President Donald Trump and conservative groups in the U.S.

The letter cites Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, which outlines the human rights that countries are required to respect.

The Hungarian government has dismissed these criticisms.

Anti-LGBTQ policies aren’t the only thing many E.U. countries have been criticizing Hungary for. The government has not approved the E.U.’s aid to Ukraine. Many E.U. countries have been increasingly frustrated with the country.

An E.U. official has stated that there is a chance for Hungary to be stripped of its voting rights as a part of the E.U. This would invoke Article 7 of the E.U. treaty. For this to happen, four-fifths of E.U. countries (22 countries) would need to hold a vote that declares Hungary to have infringed upon the E.U. treaty. Then, 26 countries, all of which are E.U. countries except for Hungary, would need to approve removing Hungary’s ability to vote on foreign policies or expanding the E.U.

So far, there are at least 19 countries that approve of invoking Article 7, which is less than the required number to pass the first vote. France and Germany have recently voiced their approval for suspending Hungary’s voting rights. However, having all 26 countries approve is a significant challenge. Slovakia is expected to support Hungary.