The head of the European commission gave a 77-minute speech at the European parliament in Brussels when she singled out the Polish Law and Justice party for their bigoted and discriminative views.
Von der Leyen criticised EU member states who have increasingly watered down protections and policy on human rights to satisfy their own political agenda.
Poland’s Law and Justice party have inspired and supported some Polish towns to declares themselves as “LGBT-ideology free zones,” putting vulnerable LGBTQ+ citizens at risk of discrimination, prejudice and violence. “Being yourself is not your ideology,” Von der Leyen stated in her speech. “It’s your identity.