15 EU countries, including Germany and France, join legal case against Hungary's anti-LGBT law
euronews.comsaid the Belgian Foreign Affairs Ministry, which had led the charge against the controversial bill.The Hungarian law, approved in June 2021, contains one provision that prohibits or heavily restricts depictions of homosexuality and gender reassignment in media content and educational material addressed to audiences under 18 years of age.This triggered a political backlash, with countries signing joint letters and prime ministers openly voicing their discontent with their Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orbán.Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte went as far as suggesting that if Hungary moved ahead with the plans "as far as I am concerned, then there is nothing left for them in the EU".The legislation also came under fire for conflating paedophilia with homosexuality, as the text's stated purpose is to strengthen the protection of children against sex offenders.The European Commission, which oversees the compatibility of national law with EU rules, asked Hungary to explain why the ban on LGBT content was necessary to achieve the law's main objectives.Unconvinced by Budapest's reasoning, the EU executive launched an infringement procedure, arguing the legislation infringed upon fundamental rights and several regulations of the single market."This Hungarian bill is a shame," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in 2021."This bill clearly discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and it goes against all the fundamental values of the European Union: this is human dignity, it is equality and it's the human fundamental rights.
So we will not compromise on these principles."As Hungary refused to back down, the Commission submitted in July last year a legal case before the European Court of.
