Another European country turns against Hungary
Ireland joins the EU case against Hungary.
The Irish government joins the European Commission’s legal action over the Hungarian Child Protection Act. This rule bans the portrayal of queer people in content aimed at under-18s. More and more countries are siding with Brussels against the Hungarian government.
The European Commission launched legal action against the Hungarian government back in December. The case was started over the child protection law criticised for its homophobic overtones, Portfolio writes. Several countries have already joined the lawsuit against Viktor Orbán’s government, with Portugal backing Brussels last week. Meanwhile, the Budapest leadership has filed a counter-petition.
But on Monday, Ireland joined the case. This means that fears that the European Commission will be left to its own devices are gone. At the beginning of the year, few countries had indicated that they would intervene. Now, EU countries are signalling their intention to do so.
Leading figures in the Irish government, including PM Leo Varadkar and deputy head of government Micheál Martin, have sharply criticised the law, which was introduced in 2021 and described it as a “Russian-style” anti-LGBT propaganda law.
A memo will be presented to the government by the end of the month seeking approval for Ireland to join the infringement case brought by the Commission before the European Court of Justice, the Irish Times reported.
Along with Ireland, Portugal and Belgium, it is increasingly certain that Luxembourg and the Netherlands will join the European Commission. Last month, Ireland backed a statement from the Benelux countries expressing serious concern that the Hungarian parliament has passed new laws that discriminate against the LGBTQI+ community in Hungary.
Source: Portfolio.hu