17 EU Countries Condemn Hungary Pride Ban, Urge Commission Action

Seventeen European Union member states, including France, Germany, and Spain, have jointly condemned Hungary's new law banning public Pride events and restricting LGBTQ+ expression under the guise of child protection. The law, passed in April, fines organizers and participants of Pride events and permits the use of facial recognition technology to identify attendees, which critics argue constitutes an effective ban on Budapest's annual Pride parade. These countries have urged the European Commission to use its full rule-of-law enforcement mechanisms, including potentially invoking Article 7 of the EU Treaty, to compel Hungary to repeal the legislation. Hungary’s government defends the measures as necessary for protecting children's rights and moral development, denying that the law constitutes a Pride ban. The European Commission is actively monitoring the situation amid concerns that Hungary's actions violate fundamental EU values of human dignity, freedom, equality, and the right to peaceful assembly. The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between Hungary's nationalist government and the EU over democratic standards and national sovereignty.