EU to take legal action against Hungary’s anti-gay law – POLITICO.eu

The European Commission is set to launch legal procedures against Hungary’s new anti-LGBTQ+ law on Thursday, two officials familiar with the plans told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook.

Brussels will commence two separate infringement procedures, putting forward its legal arguments in letters of formal notice with a two-month deadline for Hungary to respond.

In the first procedure, the Commission will argue that Budapest’s rules, which prohibit the portrayal of homosexuality or transgender people in content shown to minors, violate the right to freedom of expression and information as well as the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the e-Commerce Directive. The Commission will also argue that more broadly, the legislation goes against the freedom to provide services and free movement of goods, according to officials.

The second case is more specific and concerns the book publisher Labrisz, which a Hungarian government agency forced to slap a disclaimer on one of its children’s book, saying it showed “behavior deviating from traditional gender roles.” The Commission will argue the order breaches the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.

Brussels will also send a letter to Poland, slamming the country “for its lack of cooperation” on a Commission request for more detailed information about several municipalities and regions that declared themselves “LGBT-ideology free zones” in 2019, according to one official. The Commission is looking into whether places with such discriminatory practices can still receive EU funds.

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