On March 21, the JURI Committee voted in favour of the European Parliament joining the Commission’s infringement procedure against Hungary’s so-called «child protection law».
The vote was carried with a resounding majority of 18 votes in favor and 2 votes against, marking a watershed moment in the decision to submit a written observation. In the upcoming Court case, the Parliament will have the opportunity to defend the EU’s internal market and e-commerce rules, as well as the Union’s values as enshrined in Article 2 TEU.
In June 20211, the Hungarian National Assembly passed the ‘anti-LGBTIQ’ law, prompting the European Commission to launch an infringement procedure. On December 19, 2022, the European Court of Justice published the Court case.
Pierre Karleskind MEP (Renew Europe), Vice-President of the LGBTI Intergroup and Member in
the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) who initiated the proposal comments:
The positive vote result in JURI to join the Court case against Hungary is a landmark decision.
Not only does it show our institution’s unwavering support for the values on which the European
Union is founded, but is also a clear message to national leaders: if you attack the values, you
will find the European Parliament in your path.
Kim van Sparrentak MEP (Greens-EFA), Co-Chair of the LGBTI Intergroup, concludes:
The landmark decision by the JURI Committee to join the Commission’s Court case positions
the European Parliament on the right side of history by defending the rights of LGBTIQ people
as fundamental human rights. This is a unique opportunity to also uphold the Union’s values as
outlined in Article 2 TEU with the clear message that the European Parliament believes in a
Union where there is no place for LGBTIQ-phobia.
1 Background information:
On 15 June 2021, the Hungarian National Assembly adopted Act LXXIX of 2021 on taking more severe actions
against paedophile offenders and amending certain Acts for the protection of children.
On 22 June 2021, Belgium initiated a declaration signed by 18 Member States calling on the European Commission to lever legal action.
On 22 June 2021, the LGBTI Intergroup initiated an Oral Question that resulted in a Parliament debate and
resolution on the matter.
On 15 July 2021, the Commission announced it would initiate an infringement procedure to refer Hungary to the
European Court of Justice
On 19 December 2022, the CJEU published the Court case.
On 14 March, a public petition calling on each Member State’s government to join the case as a third party was ongoing. On the same day, the EP LGBTI Intergroup initiated a photo action in Strasbourg urging Member States to join. To this date, 5 Member States have officially joined the case (Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Austria)
