By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – A delegation of European Union lawmakers visiting Hungary urged Europe’s top court on Wednesday to suspend a new law banning Budapest Pride, the annual rally for the LGBTQ+ community.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has defended the legislation, saying his rightwing government seeks to “protect children” against “LGBTQ+ activism” while defending “traditional families” and “Christian values.”
Orbán, a close ally of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, also oversaw this week’s amendment of the constitution recognizing only two genders, men and women. This prompted thousands of Hungarians to take to the streets, including in a 24-hour protest that saw demonstrators blocking a key bridge and a rally near Orbán’s office in the Castle District overlooking Budapest.
As protests were underway, the EU legislators criticized a “very hostile atmosphere” for LGBTQ+ people in the country and urged a return to “real democracy.”
Several protesters were detained, including one young protester leader who was pushed to the ground by several police officers, Worthy News witnessed.
Tineke Strik, a Dutch Green politician who led the cross-party group of European Parliamentarians investigating democratic standards in Hungary, said developments were going “rapidly in the wrong direction.”
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
She added, “We eagerly want this country to turn back into a real democracy because we think that Hungarian citizens should enjoy the same rights and values as we all do in the EU.”
Strik and four other European legislators arrived in Budapest on the day that Hungarian lawmakers passed a constitutional amendment allowing the government to ban LGBTQ+ events.
That change codified a law passed in March banning Pride marches and allowing authorities to use facial recognition technology to track attendees so they could be fined. It has been described by one rights group as a “full-frontal attack” on LGBTQ+ people.
Strik said: “Organisers and participants of the Budapest Pride risk facing criminal charges for marching peacefully in support of diversity, equality, and freedom, as they have done for the last 29 years.”
The visit wrapped up soon after the United States government announced it was lifting sanctions on a close aide to Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, describing the punitive measures as “inconsistent with US foreign policy interests.”
Antal Rogán had been added to the US sanctions list in January, in the final days of Joe Biden’s administration, for alleged corruption. The Hungarian government said at the time it intended to challenge this as soon as Trump took office.
DRINKING CHAMPAGNE
As one of Trump’s biggest supporters, Orban once said he would open several bottles of champagne if Trump were re-elected.
Hungary was the only EU member state to vote against the EU’s retaliatory measures against Trump’s tariffs, which were later suspended after a last-minute policy reversal by the White House.
However, despite his admiration for Trump, Orbán faced an awkward moment when the Trump administration released a report on foreign trade barriers, raising concerns about corruption in Hungary’s public procurement system.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó claimed that parts of the report had been “dictated by” the previous U.S. ambassador to Budapest, David Pressman, who doubted the government’s democratic credentials.
Yet the report underscored broader concerns about reported government corruption in Hungary.
Opinion polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party behind the new Tisza party ahead of next year’s elections.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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