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The Journal
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Budapest mayor threatened with imprisonment as he defies police to host Pride parade
Lauren Boland Lauren Boland reports from Budapest THE MAYOR OF Budapest is defying the city's police and the Hungarian government to host a Pride parade this weekend in the face of mounting efforts to push Hungary's LGBTQ+ community to the sidelines of society. Gergely Karácsony, the city's left-wing mayor, has said he has been threatened with imprisonment for his organising of Pride – but he said the threat is an 'honour' for him as he fights to protect LGBTQ+ rights in a hostile political environment. He called for Hungary to establish a new constitution that protects human dignity and the human rights of vulnerable minority groups. It comes as EU Rule of Law and Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath confirms the EU has written to Hungarian authorities regarding its plans for extensive use of facial recognition as Hungary tries to quash the right to protest. The Hungarian government introduced strict new legislation this year curbing freedom of assembly, which, layered on top of previous laws that penalise visibility of LGBTQ+ related content, enabled its targeting of Pride parades. Budapest's police force ordered the Pride parade planned for this Saturday not to go ahead. In response, Karácsony, as the city's mayor, said he will host it as a municipal event, which he argued would fall outside the scope of the restrictions – but authorities are still insisting the event is banned. 'There has been months of debate over the legality of the event, but let's face it = that's getting boring, and it is unnecessary. We cannot ban freedom,' said Karácsony, speaking in Hungarian at a conference this morning with an English translator. 'The protection of human rights and respect for dignity are the foundations on which every just society is built. The law should protect that dignity… but dignity transcends the law. The protection of human dignity is a moral imperative,' the mayor said. Advertisement A Pride parade in Budapest in 2021 Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Hungary has some of the most repressive laws in Europe at the moment with regard to the LGBTQ+ community. In 2021, it passed a bill that banned communicating with children and teenagers about sexual orientations and gender identities, both in media like movies or books and in educational settings. The law has had far-reaching consequences and has been condemned by civil society in Hungary and internationally. A recent legal option from the EU Court of Justice said that Hungary is infringing on the treaty that sets out the EU's fundamental principles of human dignity and equality, and that it has significantly deviated from the model of a constitutional democracy. 'We cannot go on like this,' the mayor of Budapest said this morning. 'There are now thousands of signs that we cannot go on like this and that Hungary is on the verge of change,' he said. 'Liberal democracy was our answer for how to form society in which human dignity including right to self-determination is upheld Democracy is being challenged by powerful political actors worldwide. 'The ongoing debate and struggle over this issue will have a decisive issue on western civilisation and humanity as a whole.' Karácsony said the country 'needs a new constitution' and that the current constitution 'protects the powerful instead of protecting people from the powerful'. 'We are standing up for our principles, and our principles must be more important than power,' he said. 'We must restore equality of life and the rule of law and create a constitution with the right to sustainability and to housing but also full equality of rights to same-sex couples and minorities in Hungary.' The mayor was speaking at the International Human Rights Conference in the Central European University in Budapest. Ireland's former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is also due to speak at the conference later today. Related Reads Varadkar to speak at Budapest LGBTQ+ event ahead of city's 'banned' Pride march Hungary's infamous ban on LGBTQ+ content deemed to be violation of EU law Meanwhile, European Rule of Law and Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath told The Journal in Brussels yesterday about the EU's initiation of infringement proceedings against Hungary over the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. The EU Commission is currently awaiting a formal judgement by the European Court of Justice on the Hungary case. McGrath said that the Court of Justice has sided with the Commission in every instance of alleged EU law infringement in Hungary to date. 'On this new law, which provides for the ban of certain gatherings or the potential to ban certain gatherings, we have written to the Hungarian authorities in relation to the use of facial recognition and data privacy issues that arise,' McGrath said. 'We await the response from them, and we will then evaluate that response and decide what action is open to the commission to take,' he said. Asked about the length of the process, given that European citizens' rights are at risk, McGrath said due process must be followed to ensure that the Commission has the legal right to intervene. 'We have to ensure that there is a solid, legal basis to any action that we take. The Commission has a 100% success rate with the actions it's taken with Hungary – it's important that we continue with that success before the courts,' he said. 'That legal analysis is something I have to respect. That process is still ongoing.' Additional reporting by Muiris O'Cearbhaill in Brussels Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Farmers back EU Commission proposal that would ban vegetarian products using terms like ‘burger'
IRISH FARMERS ARE backing an EU Commission proposal that would ban plant-based products from using terms such as 'burger' and 'sausage'. Last year, the EU Court of Justice ruled that plant-based foods can continue to be sold and promoted using terms traditionally associated with meat, as long as it does not mislead consumers. A 2021 French law had banned the use of meat-related terms such as 'veggie burgers' or 'vegan sausages' from being used to market foods made from plant-based proteins. But advocacy groups, including the European Vegetarian Union, challenged this and the EU Court of Justice ruled that member states cannot prevent manufacturers of plant-based protein foods from using common descriptive names to label products. However, a French MEP has rekindled the argument. The EU Commission is currently drafting proposals for the reform of the common market organisation regulation, which allows for changes to rules governing agricultural products. French MEP Céline Imart last month added in an amendment to the Commission proposals that would mean only meat products could use terms like 'steak', 'burger', and 'sausage'. Her amendment would also ban 'cell-cultured products' from using these terms. Advertisement President of Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA), Denis Drennan, has said that the use of terms like 'sausage' and 'burger' for vegetarian or vegan foods is 'deliberate and cynical'. 'It must constitute a breach of any trade descriptions act as commonly understood,' he added. Drennan also described the use of such terms for plant-based food as the 'hijacking of traditional meat terms'. He added that is 'constitutes an admission by the corporations involved that they were unable to convince consumers other than by such 'camouflage''. He said farmers are 'irritated' to see non-meat products 'want to replace our naturally produced meat' using terms that 'they know are generally understood to refer to traditional dairy and products'. 'They want to use our terminology and the acceptance borne of centuries that those terms have amongst the general public to effectively 'smuggle' their own products past a sceptical public,' he added. He also claimed that such terms 'have a degree of acceptance and understanding that was hard earned by farmers'. 'Rather than come up with their own terms and descriptions, they simply appropriate the names of the very foods they're trying to replace and supplant,' said Drennan. 'The fact that they're being allowed to 'camouflage' and take advantage of people's understanding is wrong and will have to be addressed.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
29-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Marketing firm wins €2.55m Vat battle with Revenue
A marketing company engaged in building brands has won a €2.55m Vat battle with Revenue. Revenue rejected the firm's €2.55m Vat repayment claims from 2016 to 2020, and now the firm has succeeded in part, showing that the Revenue were wrong to refuse the cumulative €2.55m repayments on appeal at the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC). After five days of evidence at the TAC, commissioner Clare O'Driscoll has concluded that Revenue's decision to refuse the appellant's claim for the repayment of Vat be varied and Revenue shall repay to the firm the input Vat incurred by the company relating to its economic activities for the periods July to August 2016, to November to December 2020. Ms O'Driscoll has also found that Revenue shall, following a detailed apportionment exercise between the parties, repay to the firm the input Vat incurred by the company relating to its non-economic activities where there is a direct and immediate link with the company's output transactions which give rise to a right of deduction for the periods July to August 2016, to November to December 2020. In her ruling, Ms O'Driscoll cited sections of the EU Principal Vat Directive as envisaged by the EU Court of Justice. Ms O'Driscoll has directed that both sides will have to go through a detailed apportionment exercise to establish the precise details and amounts to determine the Vat to be repaid to the firm. Ms O'Driscoll said that for her to make a determination as to apportionment, following such an exercise would have required an oral hearing of weeks if not months. The organisation is registered for Vat and is engaged in economic and non-economic activities. In its argument before the TAC, legal representatives for the company contended that the firm is entitled to full input deduction in accordance with the law and case law concerning Vat input deduction. The hearing was told that the appellant firm conducts a mixture of activities which are both taxable and outside the scope of Vat. It stated that the case law of the EU Court of Justice has clarified that inputs used by a business both for taxable supplies and for outside the scope of Vat activity enjoy full Vat input deduction notwithstanding their partial utilisation for outside of the scope of Vat activity. The case may ultimately be decided by the High Court as a note at the end of the 91 page ruling states that the TAC has been requested to state and sign a case for the opinion of the High Court in respect of the determination.
Euronews
29-04-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Malta's golden passport scheme rejected by EU top court
ADVERTISEMENT Malta's controversial golden passport scheme, allowing foreigners to purchase EU citizenship in exchange for investing upwards of €690,000, was ruled unlawful by the EU's top court on Tuesday. The Commission took legal action years ago, arguing that the golden passport scheme breached Malta's duty to cooperate sincerely. It offered people the chance to gain citizenship of Malta, and hence the right to work across the EU, even if they didn't have family ties or a home there. The EU Court of Justice agreed with the Commission, finding that such a scheme 'amounts to the commercialisation of the granting of the status of national of a member state and, by extension, Union citizenship, which is incompatible with the conception of that fundamental status that stems from the EU Treaties'. Payments or investments underpinned the Maltese scheme, the court held, adding that 'it cannot be considered that actual residence on that territory was regarded by the Republic of Malta as constituting an essential criterion for the grant of the nationality of that member state under that scheme'. The court declared that by establishing and operating its golden passport scheme Malta failed to fulfil its obligations under the EU treaties and ordered Malta to pay the costs of the case. The decision went against the grain of a non-binding report by Advocate General Anthony Collins last October which brushed aside European Commission concerns that the scheme undermined the EU's integrity. "Member States have decided that it is for each of them alone to determine who is entitled to be one of their nationals and, as a consequence, who is an EU citizen,' Collins' opinion had suggested. Judges at the Court of Justice aren't obliged to follow Advocate General opinions, though in the majority of cases they do. Related Malta's golden passport scheme can stay, EU court signals Malta's was the last remaining golden passport scheme within the bloc, after Cyprus scrapped its procedure in 2020, and Bulgaria in 2022. Other countries offer 'golden visas', a narrower system that offers residence permits to those willing to pay, although those are also under the spotlight. Portugal slimmed down its golden visa scheme last year, removing a real estate investment condition in a bid to cut property speculation. The Netherlands followed suit, ending its golden visa scheme in January 2024, and Spain has also promised to abolish golden visas for those who invest in real estate. The schemes have raised significant security and money-laundering concerns – not least since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as acquiring an EU passport or residence card may let wealthy Russians evade sanctions. In 2022, MEPs called for tighter rules on golden visas and a ban on citizenship by investment, saying it was 'objectionable from an ethical, legal and economic point of view'. This story will be updated with reactions from Malta.
The Independent
18-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Italy's Meloni calls for 'pragmatism' on tariffs, supports Trump's ceasefire efforts for Ukraine
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday called for 'pragmatism' to prevent an EU-US dispute over tariffs from escalating into a full-scale trade war, and expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Speaking to the Italian Senate ahead of a meeting of EU leaders this week, Meloni made her first wide-ranging comments touching on Trump policies that have shaken Europe in the two months since he took office. Meloni struck a diplomatic tone on tariffs and expressed favor for Trump's moves to establish a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine as a possible pathway to end the war in Ukraine. She also ruled out sending Italian troops to Ukraine, and spoke against the proposal for a security force by Britain and France. And she pledged to forge ahead with a controversial and stalled plan to vet migrants outside of the EU borders in Albania. On Ukraine 'We support the efforts of U.S. President Donald Trump in this sense,'' she said, adding that the proposed ceasefire deal 'is a first significant step in a path that must lead to a justice and lasting peace for Ukraine." Meloni also ruled out sending Italian troops to Ukraine, saying 'it is not on the agenda.' "We believe that the dispatch of European troops proposed in a draft by Britain and France is a very complex, risky and ineffective option,'' she said. On tariffs Meloni said she hoped that a trade war with the United States can be avoided, after the EU responded to U.S. tariffs on steel with tariffs on American whiskey and spirits. Italian winemakers, whose exports to the U.S. last year grew to 2 billion euros, are among those bracing for threatened tariffs of up to 200% should the EU tariffs take effect on April 1. 'I am convinced that we need to work concretely and with pragmatism to find common ground and avoid a trade war that would not benefit anyone, not the United States, and not Europe,'' Meloni said. She warned against retaliatory tariffs 'that become a vicious circle where everyone loses.' On migration Meloni said Italy is determined to operate centers in Albania that it built last year to screen asylum seekers, saying she has received support for the project from other EU governments. The project has been stalled after Italian courts refused to approve deportation proceedings, which has been referred to the EU Court of Justice. 'I hope that the court will avoid the risk of compromising the repatriation policies not only of Italy, but all EU member states,'' she said, adding that it would 'undermine the very stability of Europe."
