The European Commission initiates an infringing procedure considering that Warsaw and Budapest violate fundamental rights
La European Commission has decided to pass this 15 July to action and has opened infringement proceedings against the governments of Hungary y Poland, two ultra-conservative executives who are raising a “culture war”, In the words of the French leader Emmanuel Macron, whose main objective is a direct attack on human rights by limiting the freedoms and rights of the collective LGTBI +.
If warsaw y Budapest keep your pulse, the matter will end in the hands of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against which, in fact, the Polish government he already has a real crusade with the aim of breaking his sentences. They are two different files. Against Hungary An infringement procedure is opened by its law that limits the rights of the group by prohibiting homosexuality from being addressed in the classes and by making the contents in which it is reflected limited only to those over 18 years of age.
The rule has generated a great political battle at the highest level of the UE, causing that in the last European Council the rest of the leaders will face Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister. Mark Rutte, his Dutch counterpart, even suggested that he activate Article 50 of the Treaties and leave the European Union.
The process may end up before the Court of Justice of the European Union
But European Commission cannot open a file against Hungary for a political reason. The Hungarian rule has to violate the Treaties. And the Executive Community finds a long list of directives that are violated by the new Hungarian law, such as those on audiovisual media, that of transparency of the single market, that of abusive commercial practices and a long etcetera. But the most serious, in the eyes of Brussels, is that the new norm "It also violates human dignity, freedom of expression and information, the right to respect for private life and the right to non-discrimination as enshrined respectively in articles 1, 7, 11 and 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU".
The European Commission considers that Hungary restricts freedom of expression
That is the jewel in the crown that Commission seeks to protect. On the record against Budapest another measure is included. The January 19, 2021, Hungarian Consumer Protection Authority forced a book in which characters appeared LGTBI + include a notice that the work describes forms of behavior «that deviate from traditional gender roles«. The European Commission considers that “Hungary restricts the freedom of expression of book authors and publishers and unjustifiably discriminates on the grounds of sexual orientation".
On the other hand, the second file, that of Poland, refers to the so-called “free zones of LGTB ideology”. In February, the European Commission asked the Polish authorities for information about this label that different municipalities and regions have adopted, expressing concern that this measure goes against the law of the Union when establishing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. So far the Polish authorities have not provided additional information to the Community Executive. "Poland is hampering the Commission's ability to exercise the powers conferred on it by the Treaties and is in breach of the principle of sincere cooperation under Article 4 (3) TEU, which requires Member States to provide genuine cooperation to the institutions of the Union. Therefore, the Commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to Poland for its lack of cooperation”, He said in a statement on Thursday.
