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| Europe |
| Poland and Hungary block ‘LGBTIQ rights' from being enshrined in EU legislation |
| 2018-12-13 |
| [LifeSite] BRUSSELS, December 12, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) ‐ Poland and Hungary blocked the inclusion of "LGBTIQ" rights in a common European Union statement. Last week representatives from Poland and Hungary annoyed other European Union (EU) member states by vetoing the inclusion of the "LGBTIQ" acronym in a joint statement by employment and social affairs ministers meant to promote "gender equity in the digital era." LGBTIQ is a reference to people who derive their identity from lesbianism, homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism, intersexuality, or an experimental "questioning" approach to sexuality. The European employment and social affairs ministers collectively form the EU Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO), which meets four times a year. Its most recent meeting was held in Brussels on December 6. Brussels is the capital of the European Union. The official EPSCO Council Conclusions now refer only to "gender equality, youth and digitalization." To appease the other member states, who were reportedly furious with Poland’s and Hungary’s veto, Austria added a reference to "LGBTIQ" to the document in its current capacity as holder of the Presidency of the European Council. However, this addition is classified as only "presidential conclusions," which do not have the legal significance of formal Council conclusions. One of the ministers complained vociferously about the actions of the Hungarian and Polish members. According to Politico, Wouter Koolmees, the Dutch minister for social affairs and employment, called "LGBTIQ" rights "core values" of the European Union. "LGBTIQ inclusion and equality are core values of our European Union," he said. "This is where I draw the line. We will never compromise our principles. This is not up for discussion and should have never been an issue for any member state. So I am happy that the reference is back in the text. Although I do regret we were not able to adopt them as Council conclusions." |
| Posted by:Besoeker |