17 EU countries sound alarm over Hungarian LGBTQ+ laws

By Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Seventeen European Union countries accused Hungary on Tuesday of contravening fundamental EU values by passing laws that target LGBTQ+ people, as tensions deepen between Budapest and a majority of member states.

Hungary’s parliament passed legislation in March 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 in April 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 of a hearing on Tuesday in a long-running process where EU ministers examine concerns that Hungary is at risk of breaching core EU values.

The process could in theory lead to Hungary being stripped of its right to vote on EU decisions. But diplomats say there is not sufficient support among the 27 EU member states to take that step.

'MORE NUANCED VIEW'

Arriving at the meeting, Hungary's Minister for European Union Affairs Janos Boka said: "There is no such thing in Hungary as a Pride ban".

"I hope that after these discussions my colleagues around the table will walk out with a more nuanced view on the Hungarian legislation," he said.

But activists say the measures amount to a de-facto ban.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Pride organisers "should not even bother" this year, while his chief of staff Gergely Gulyas has said Hungary "does not have to tolerate Pride marching through downtown Budapest".

Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has repeatedly clashed with the EU and its member countries over democratic standards, minority rights and foreign policy.

Critics have accused Orban of undermining the rule of law, which the Hungarian government denies.

His ruling Fidesz party has said the Pride march could be considered harmful to children and that protecting them would supersede the right to assemble.

European Commissioner Michael McGrath, who oversees democracy, justice and rule of law issues, said on Tuesday there were serious concerns about the situation in Hungary.

"Freedom of assembly is a fundamental right," he told reporters.

"It is not a threat to children. It's not a threat to anyone, and it must be protected and upheld at all times, and so the Commission is examining all of its options," he said.

(Reporting by Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray in Brussels and Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves in Budapest; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Gareth Jones)