Dozens of MEPs are expected to attend the Pride march in Budapest later this month, in defiance of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who has tried to ban the event.
In a debate in the European parliament in Strasbourg, MEPs from liberal, left and green groups pledged to be in Budapest on 28 June for the parade to show solidarity with gay Hungarians.
The pledges came after the city’s mayor said the event would go ahead, circumventing a law that allows police to ban LGBTQ+ marches. Gergely Karácsony said on Monday that the march would be a municipal event – and a celebration of freedom – so “no permits from authorities are needed”.
“In this city, there are no first- or second-class citizens … neither freedom, nor love can be banned, and the Budapest Pride cannot be banned either,” Karácsony said.
Iratxe García Pérez, the Spanish leader of the Socialist group in the European parliament, addressed gay people in Hungary directly during the debate on Wednesday: “We see you, we hear you and on 28 June we will march with you in Budapest, side by side, proud and loud.”
Tineke Strik, a Dutch Green MEP, who recently led a delegation of lawmakers to Hungary, said she and 70 European deputies would be in Budapest. “Me and 70 colleagues will do what the commission won’t. We will come to the Pride. We will show the Hungarians that they are not alone.”
Amsterdam’s mayor Femke Halsema and a junior Dutch minister have also said they will attend the event, according to local media.
The European commissioner for democracy and justice, Irish politician Michael McGrath, who took part in the debate, did not respond to repeated requests to join the event in Budapest.
McGrath confirmed the commission was examining the Hungarian law that outlaws Pride marches over its compatibility with EU law and provisions on fundamental rights. “The European commission is ready to use all its tools to ensure that EU law is upheld right across our union,” he said.
The commission is already taking legal action against Hungary over a 2021 law that bans LGBTQ+ content from schools and primetime TV, meaning pupils wondering about their sexuality cannot access help, while shows or adverts reflecting themes of tolerance may be impossible to air during peak viewing hours.
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In a significant step, a senior legal scholar – known as an advocate general – at the European court of justice sided with the commission, finding that the Hungarian law banning LGBTQ+ content was based on “prejudice that homosexual and non-cisgender [transgender] life is not of equal value”. The court follows the advocate general’s opinion in most cases.
Kinga Gál, a member of Orbán’s Fidesz party and vice-president of the far-right Patriots for Europe group, said the debate was “nothing new” and “perfectly fits into the witch hunts and hysteria we have experienced for several years about Hungary”.
In the right-leaning parliament, Hungary found vocal support in far-right and nationalist MEPs from France, Italy, Spain and Germany.
Christine Anderson of the Alternative for Deutschland party, said: “Where you see scandal, I see reason, common sense and decency,” while accusing the commission of running an “inquisition”.
MEPs from the centre-right were muted in support of gay rights, focusing on concerns over freedom of assembly and democratic standards. “Opposition is rising in Hungary and Orbán is clearly afraid,” Tomas Tobé, a Swedish member of the European People’s party, said. “They are doing everything they can to limit freedom of speech, restrict freedom of assembly and prevent people from determining their own future.”
The EPP is allied to Péter Magyar, a former Fidesz insider who is widely seen to present the most serious electoral challenge to Orbán since his return to power in 2010.
