BRUSSELS – The fight begins immediately. The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, opens the Council meeting. He attacks Hungary’s anti-gay law. The Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán listen. Then he gets up and takes the floor. He waves his hand and scans the words: “Everything I have heard is not true. We have no homophobic laws. Our reality is very different.” In Palazzo Justus Lipsius at that point the buzz becomes an increasingly loud background noise. Sassoli takes up the microphone again: “I understand that you have approved a legislative measure criticized by all the European institutions, which is not true.”
The summit of the heads of state and government has thus been writhing from the very beginning on the case of Hungary. The original agenda is upset. At this point, there is not only the dialectical skirmish at stake. But an infringement procedure with a lot of economic sanctions or even, as the European Parliament would like, the suspension of financing from the Recovery Fund. The real end of the world weapon.
Yesterday morning the hard core of Europe had already moved with a letter signed by 16 leaders, including Draghi, Merkel e Macron. A very hard missive. “We will continue to fight discrimination against the LGBTQ community – we read – reaffirming our defense of their fundamental rights. Respect and tolerance are at the heart of the European project”.
Another jab in the afternoon. The Commission sends a letter to the sovereign government of Orbán. The commissioners Reynders e Breton the Magyars warn. That law violates the Charter of Fundamental Rights of Europe. Using “a method that discriminates against people based on their sex and sexual orientation”. Article 21 of the Charter of Rights prohibits “any form of discrimination based on sex, race, skin color or sexual orientation”. So they clarify, withdraw it or an infringement procedure will start. Of course, the process in this case would be very cumbersome and above all long. The sanction would be pecuniary. An installation that for the moment does not impress Orbán. Also because the new elections in that country will be held in less than a year and the Hungarian sovereign needs to keep the point at least until that date.
Ddl Zan and the Vatican, Draghi and the firmness decided with Mattarella in defense of the state
by Giovanna Vitale
The summit did not adopt a formal measure. The Commission has already done so. The social sanction, however, is more than obvious. The premier of Luxembourg Bettel who has never hidden that he is homosexual is very firm: “Accepting to be gay was the hardest thing in my life. Feeling that maybe it’s because I watched something on TV when I was young is unacceptable. How to mix pedophilia, pornography and homosexuality” . Orbán, therefore, is truly isolated this time. The consequences are still uncertain.
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