Wednesday

31st May 2023

Luxembourg's Bettel lashes out against Orbán over LGBTI law

  • Luxembourg premier Xavier Bettel said he was 'ashamed' to see politicians wanting to win votes at the expense of minorities (Photo: European Parliament)
Listen to article

Luxembourg's gay prime minister Xavier Bettel on Wednesday (18 April) launched an attack on the government of Hungary's Viktor Orbán which has in recent years introduced legislation targeting LGBTI people.

"I'm ashamed to see that some of my colleagues want to win votes at the expense of minorities," Bettel, who is one of two openly gay leaders of the EU, alongside Ireland's Leo Varadkar, told MEPs in the European Parliament plenary.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"This has already happened in our history," he said.

Germany, France, and Bettel's Luxembourg, are among the 15 EU countries countries that joined the EU Commission's legal case against Hungary over its so-called "child-protection" law.

The law bans LGBTI people from featuring in school educational materials or TV shows for audiences under 18.

The legislation came under heavy fire already in 2021 at a meeting of EU leaders particularly for conflating paedophilia with homosexuality.

The commission said the law "discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity."

"If there's anyone in this house who thinks that you've become a homosexual by watching the television or listening to a song, then you've not understood anything," Bettel told European lawmakers.

"The most difficult [thing] for a homosexual is to accept themselves," Bettel said, adding: "Nobody is asking for pity, solidarity, or compassion, just respect."

"It is appalling to think that you can deal with this by a law on the media," he said, directing his comments at the Hungarian government.

Hungary's anti-LGBTI law is as part of a series of laws which Orbán's government argues aim to protect conservative values.

Hungarian lawmakers recently passed a bill that enables citizens to report anonymously on same-sex couples who raise children to authorities, Bloomberg reported.

In response, Tamás Deutsch, an MEP from Hungary's ruling Fidesz told Bettel "not to stigmatise" those who have a different identity, conviction, faith or political opinion from his.

He told Bettel not to call the so-called child protection law homophobic "by stating untruths", because it is only about defying the "inalienable right of parents to raise one's own child".

The commission has already suspended some of Hungary's EU funds over democratic backsliding and judicial independence, and negotiations over unblocking the subsidies also include the LGBTI-law.

Scapegoating of LGBTI people on increase in Europe

The rise of anti-LGBTI rhetoric by officials in Europe seen as part of a global effort by nationalist-conservative politicians to make political gains by scapegoating LGBTI people.

EU clashes over protection of workers exposed to asbestos

EU parliament is calling for more protection for workers exposed to asbestos, the main cause of workplace fatalities in the EU, while member states remain more cautious and will call for a review of its mandate.

Column

What a Spanish novelist can teach us about communality

In a world where cultural clashes and sectarianism seems to be on the increase, Spanish novelist Javier Cercas (b.1962) takes the opposite approach. He cherishes both life in the big city and in the countryside.

Latest News

  1. Europe's TV union wooing Lavrov for splashy interview
  2. ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall
  3. Adapting to Southern Europe's 'new normal' — from droughts to floods
  4. Want to stop forced migration from West Africa? Start by banning bottom trawling
  5. Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be 'EU president'
  6. EU Parliament chief given report on MEP abuse 30 weeks before sanction
  7. EU clashes over protection of workers exposed to asbestos
  8. EU to blacklist nine Russians over jailing of dissident

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us