17 European Union (EU) countries accused Hungary of contravening fundamental values by passing laws that target LGBTQ+ people, as tensions deepen between Budapest and a majority of member states.
Hungary’s parliament passed legislation that creates a legal basis to ban Pride marches there and lets police use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. It also approved constitutional changes stipulating that Hungary recognises only two sexes, male and female.
"We are highly alarmed by these developments which run contrary to the fundamental values of human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights," the governments of the 17 countries said in a joint statement.
They called on Hungary to revise the measures and asked the European Commission to make full use of its powers if Budapest does not do so. The Commission can take legal action against member states if it believes they are violating EU law.
The statement was backed by Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The declaration came ahead after EU ministers examine concerns that Hungary is at risk of breaching core EU values. Read the statement here.
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