Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly been criticized for discriminatory positions. Now his government has to answer to the ECJ for the LGBTQ law. And the EU Commission has another item on its agenda.
The EU Commission is taking Hungary twice to the European Court of Justice for alleged violations of EU law. On the one hand, it is about a law restricting information about homosexuality and transsexuality, as the authority in Brussels announced. The other case concerns the actions of the Hungarian authorities against the independent radio station Klubradio.
The EU Commission monitors compliance with the rule of law in the international community. If Hungary does not comply with the ECJ rulings that are now to be expected, there is a risk of high fines. Critics have long accused right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban of undermining the rights of minorities, democratic institutions and freedom of the press, of subjugating the judiciary and stirring up resentment against foreigners.
The homosexual law had given Orban strong headwinds in the EU last year. "This Hungarian law is a disgrace," said EU Commission President von der Leyen at the time. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte made it clear that he sees no place for Hungary in the EU if the government in Budapest continues like this. The law came into force in July 2021. It bans publications accessible to children that depict non-heterosexual relationships. Advertising is also prohibited in which homosexuals or transsexuals appear as part of normality.
Orban himself has dismissed any criticism of the new rules - claiming he is defending gay rights. However, the EU Commission is of the opinion that the law discriminates, among other things, against minorities on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity and violates fundamental rights and EU values. Exactly one year ago, the authority initiated so-called infringement proceedings against Hungary. Budapest, meanwhile, did not assuage concerns.
The same applies to the action against the club radio, probably the last professional independent radio station in the country. The station was forced to cease FM broadcasting in February 2021 because the government media agency failed to renew the broadcasting license.
Since the right-wing Prime Minister Orban took office in 2010, the private broadcaster has been regularly subjected to repression by the media authorities. Among other things, before the license was revoked, he was only allowed to broadcast in the greater Budapest area. Currently, the club radio only broadcasts its program via the Internet - albeit with a much smaller reach. The EU Commission justified the ECJ complaint with the fact that Hungary had applied the rules for extending the transmission frequency in an inappropriate and discriminatory manner.
