European Commission reluctant on Budapest Pride, but may act immediately on proposed transparency law

There seems to be no political will with the European Commission to take action against the anti-Pride legislation, EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib told László Sebián-Petrovszki, the leader of the Hungarian Parliament's LGBTQ+ intergroup. Sebián-Petrovszki confirmed the information contained in Politico's Monday article to Telex, saying that the bill on transparency was also discussed at the meeting.

“I advise Pride organizers not to bother with preparations for this year's parade,” because it is “a waste of time and money,” Viktor Orbán announced in his state of the nation address in February. Since then, the ruling majority of the Hungarian parliament has passed the bill that makes it possible to ban Pride. The law prohibits holding gatherings that, in accordance with the Child Protection Act, qualify as promoting or displaying “deviations from gender identity, gender reassignment, and homosexuality.” In spite of this, however, there was a small march held for LGBTQ rights in May, which the police simply acknowledged.

Following their visit to Budapest in April, a group of MEPs called on the European Commission to propose temporary measures in order to protect Budapest Pride. This could be initiated with the EU Court of Justice in a lawsuit brought for violating EU rights, if the applicant can prove that the measures are urgent and “without them, serious and irreparable damage would be caused.” The March legislation has not yet been brought before the EU Court of Justice, but the law that the Hungarian government calls "the child protection law" is already there. It is in relation to this that the MEPs are calling for interim measures, but the European Commission has not yet taken any action. According to the official explanation, the reason for this is that the two pieces of legislation are entirely separate.

In contrast, according to Politico, Hadja Lahbib, the European Commission's member responsible for equality cited political reasons to László Sebián-Petrovszki on Friday. According to the paper's source, the Commissioner does not feel that there is sufficient support within the body or from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for moving forward, and the body is waiting to see whether Pride will actually be banned under the recently adopted legislation.

Telex reached László Sebián-Petrovszki by phone, who confirmed that Lahbib had indeed said that there was no political will for the temporary measure, even though, according to the DK politician, the temporary measure would have made it legally possible to save Pride – if it had been introduced by Tuesday. (The event planned for June 28 must be announced thirty days in advance.)

The Democratic Coalition (DK) issued a statement explaining that "we struck a clear and straightforward tone at the meeting. We did not stay silent about the Commission's delay: we firmly rejected the policy of ‘strategic patience’ and demanded immediate legal protection for Pride. We are not asking for any more moral support – we want specific steps, but Lahbib made no specific commitment to taking temporary measures.

The European Commission declined to comment on the content of the meetings when Politico asked. According to Lahbib's simple post on X on Friday, the talks were “frank and constructive” and the Commission remains committed to EU values.

No commissioners expected at Pride, but some MEPs might come

According to Euractiv, the President of the European Commission expressly prohibited commissioners from participating in the Budapest march (although doing so has not been customary anyway). As one of the paper's sources put it,

they did not want to “provoke Viktor Orbán on his home turf.”

They do not want the Hungarian government to twist things and say, “Here we go again, the out-of-touch Brussels elite has come to lecture us on morality.”

The European Commission did not comment on this information either. They only said that the body is committed to equality and that the commissioners' schedule for the end of June is yet to be finalized. However, on Monday, in response to inquiries from Népszava about this, Commission spokesperson Eva Hrnčířová merely stated that they had received an invitation.

In a statement issued by DK, they claim to "have received a clear commitment from the socialist faction of the EP and the leaders of the LGBTQ group of the body of representatives that

more than 70 MEPs and staff members have confirmed their participation at Budapest Pride.

The event will therefore not only be a community celebration, but also a political statement – under the EU flag, against hate speech."

Klára Dobrev, currently the only presidential candidate for DK, wrote an open letter to Von der Leyen on Monday. She reminded the Commission President that the European Commission is the guardian of the EU's founding treaties (the EU's quasi-constitution) and must protect the fundamental rights enshrined therein. "As you yourself recently emphasized in another matter, ‘appeasing’ the aggressor is morally unacceptable and, as history has shown, it is a strategy doomed to fail. It is therefore pointless to argue that supporting Pride would ‘provoke’ Viktor Orbán's government. Silence and turning a blind eye could only serve selfish, unprincipled domestic political goals that are unworthy of any democrat, including your political family, the European People's Party." She also invited Von der Leyen and all members of the European Commission to attend the Parade, scheduled for June 28.

According to Euractiv, Valérie Hayer, the leader of the liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, also wrote a letter to Von der Leyen demanding immediate legal action. The document, which was also signed by former MEP Katalin Cseh and current MEP Sophie Wilmès, reminded Von der Leyen of her numerous promises that the rule of law would be at the heart of her work. “Europe cannot be complicit in inaction,” Hayer told Euractiv.

Adoption of transparency law may immediately lead to another infringement procedure

The matter of Pride is worth following because of the proposed bill “on transparency in public life”, given that their situations are similar. The draft bill, which has not yet been adopted, would significantly increase the role of the Sovereignty Protection Office, and a lawsuit has already been filed in response the legislation establishing it, with hundreds of NGOs requesting interim measures.

Sebián-Petrovszki told Telex that the proposal had also been discussed. The Commissioner had not mentioned temporary measures, but she had said that

the European Commission could launch infringement proceedings as soon as the draft is adopted.

The steps taken in such proceedings are almost always announced in monthly packages. The case typically reaches the Court of the EU after two rounds of correspondence, which is how the law on sovereignty protection and the law requiring that books with references to homosexuality be wrapped in plastic film both ended up in court.

According to DK's statement, Lahbib emphasized that the European Commission is “closely examining” the new “transparency law.”

Last week, Michael McGrath, the European Commission's member responsible for justice, democracy, and the rule of law, said that they're keeping an eye on the impact of the new draft law. Shortly afterwards, the body asked for the bill to be withdrawn.