Latest news with #EuropeanParliament
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Hungary's LGBTQ+ Community Defies Government Ban on Pride March
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's LGBTQ+ community is preparing for a face-off with the country's autocratic government, and plans to push ahead with a march in the capital on Saturday despite a government ban and threats of legal repercussions. The populist party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in March fast-tracked a law through parliament that made it an offense to hold or attend events that 'depict or promote' homosexuality to minors aged under 18. Orbán earlier made clear that Budapest Pride — marking its 30th anniversary this year — was the explicit target of the law. But on Friday, Pride organizers along with Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib and Vice President of the European Parliament Nicolae Stefanuta said the march will take place Saturday despite official threats of heavy fines for participants and even jail time for the liberal mayor. They expect the march to be the largest ever Pride event in Hungary. 'The government is always fighting against an enemy against which they have to protect Hungarian people … This time, it is sexual minorities that are the target,' Karácsony told a news conference. 'We believe there should be no first and second class citizens, so we decided to stand by this event.' A crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights Critics of the Pride ban and other Hungarian legislation targeting LGBTQ+ communities say the policies are reminiscent of similar restrictions against sexual minorities in Russia. Hungary's recent law allows authorities to use facial recognition tools to identify individuals that attend a prohibited event. Being caught could result in fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($586.) Orbán, seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in the European Union, has in recent years prohibited same-sex adoption and banned any LGBTQ+ content including in television, films, advertisements and literature that is available to minors. His government argues exposure to such content negatively affects children's development. But opponents say the moves are part of a broader effort to scapegoat sexual minorities and consolidate his conservative base. Fines and facial recognition After police rejected several requests by organizers to register the Pride march, citing the recent law, Karácsony joined with organizers and declared it would be held as a separate municipal event — something he said does not require police approval. But Hungary's government has remained firm, insisting that holding the Pride march, even if it is sponsored by the city, would be unlawful. In a video on Facebook this week, Hungary's justice minister, Bence Tuzson, warned Karácsony that organizing Pride or encouraging people to attend is punishable by up to a year in prison. At the news conference Friday, Karácsony sought to dispel fears that police would impose heavy fines on Pride attendees. 'Police have only one task tomorrow: to guarantee the safety and security of those gathered at the event,' he said. Speaking to state radio on Friday, Orbán said that attending Pride 'will have legal consequences, but it can't reach the level of physical abuse.' 'The police could disperse such events, they have the right to do so. But Hungary is a civilized country,' he said. Right-wing counter-demonstrations On Thursday, radical right-wing party Our Homeland Movement announced it had requested police approval to hold assemblies at numerous locations across the city, many of them on the same route as the Pride march. Later, a neo-Nazi group said it too would gather Saturday at Budapest City Hall, from which the Pride march is set to depart. The group declared that only 'white, Christian, heterosexual men and women' were welcome to attend its demonstration. European officials respond Hungary's Pride ban has prompted a backlash from many of the country's partners and allies. Over 30 foreign embassies signed a joint statement this week expressing their commitment to 'every person's rights to equal treatment and nondiscrimination, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on social platform X on Wednesday, calling on Hungarian authorities to allow Pride to proceed 'without fear of any criminal or administrative sanctions against the organizers or participants.' More than 70 members of the European Parliament, as well as other officials from countries around Europe, are expected to participate in Saturday's march. Lahbib, the European Commissioner, said Friday that 'all eyes are on Budapest' as Pride marchers defy the government's ban. 'The EU is not neutral on hate,' she said. 'We cannot stay passive. We cannot tolerate what is intolerable.'
AsiaOne
2 hours ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Tens of thousands expected to attend Budapest Pride in defiance of ban, World News
BUDAPEST - Tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ rights supporters are expected to attend the Budapest Pride march on Saturday (June 28), defying a police ban as the event has become a symbol of the years-long struggle between Hungary's nationalist government and civil society. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has gradually curtailed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade, and its lawmakers passed a law in March that allows for the ban of Pride, citing the need to protect children. Opponents see the move as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a general election next year when Orban will face a strong opposition challenger. Organizers said they expect tens of thousands to attend, with participants arriving from 30 different countries, including European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib and about 70 members of the European Parliament. More than 30 embassies have expressed support for the march and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to let the parade go ahead. Seventy Hungarian civil society groups, including the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Transparency International Hungary and the Hungarian Helsinki Commission, published an open letter on Friday in support of the march, saying the law that led to the police ban "serves to intimidate the entire society". Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony tried to circumvent the law by organising the march as a municipal event, which he said does not need a permit. Police however banned the event, arguing that it fell under the scope of the child protection law. Orban, whose government promotes a Christian-conservative agenda, provided some clues on Friday about what participants can expect when he warned of "legal consequences" for organising and attending the march. Earlier this week Justice Minister Bence Tuzson warned in a letter sent to some foreign embassies in Budapest that organising a prohibited event is punishable by one year in jail, while attending counts as a misdemeanour. [[nid:719526]] The law that allows for the ban of Pride lets police impose fines and use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. When asked about the threat of a one-year jail term, Karacsony said at a press briefing on Friday that such a sentence would only boost his popularity. "But I cannot take it seriously," he said. Making the march a key topic of political discourse has allowed the Orban government to take the initiative back from the opposition and mobilise its voter base, said Zoltan Novak, an analyst at the Centre for Fair Political Analysis think tank. "In the past 15 years, Fidesz decided what topics dominated the political world," he said, noting that this has become more difficult as Orban's party has faced an increasing challenge from centre-right opposition leader Peter Magyar's Tisza party, which has a 15-point lead over Orban's Fidesz in a recent poll. Tisza, which has been avoiding taking a strong position on gay rights issues, did not specify in response to Reuters questions whether it believed the Pride march was lawful, but said those attending deserved the state's protection. "Peter Magyar has called on the Hungarian authorities and police to protect the Hungarian people this Saturday, and on other days as well, even if it means standing up against the arbitrariness of power," its press office said. Magyar himself would not attend.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Tens of thousands expected to attend Budapest Pride in defiance of ban
BUDAPEST - Tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ rights supporters are expected to attend the Budapest Pride march on Saturday, defying a police ban as the event has become a symbol of the years-long struggle between Hungary's nationalist government and civil society. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has gradually curtailed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade, and its lawmakers passed a law in March that allows for the ban of Pride, citing the need to protect children. Opponents see the move as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a general election next year when Orban will face a strong opposition challenger. Organizers said they expect tens of thousands to attend, with participants arriving from 30 different countries, including European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib and about 70 members of the European Parliament. More than 30 embassies have expressed support for the march and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to let the parade go ahead. Seventy Hungarian civil society groups, including the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Transparency International Hungary and the Hungarian Helsinki Commission, published an open letter on Friday in support of the march, saying the law that led to the police ban "serves to intimidate the entire society". Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony tried to circumvent the law by organising the march as a municipal event, which he said does not need a permit. Police however banned the event, arguing that it fell under the scope of the child protection law. Orban, whose government promotes a Christian-conservative agenda, provided some clues on Friday about what participants can expect when he warned of "legal consequences" for organising and attending the march. Earlier this week Justice Minister Bence Tuzson warned in a letter sent to some foreign embassies in Budapest that organising a prohibited event is punishable by one year in jail, while attending counts as a misdemeanour. The law that allows for the ban of Pride lets police impose fines and use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. When asked about the threat of a one-year jail term, Karacsony said at a press briefing on Friday that such a sentence would only boost his popularity. "But I cannot take it seriously," he said. Making the march a key topic of political discourse has allowed the Orban government to take the initiative back from the opposition and mobilise its voter base, said Zoltan Novak, an analyst at the Centre for Fair Political Analysis think tank. "In the past 15 years, Fidesz decided what topics dominated the political world," he said, noting that this has become more difficult as Orban's party has faced an increasing challenge from centre-right opposition leader Peter Magyar's Tisza party, which has a 15-point lead over Orban's Fidesz in a recent poll. Tisza, which has been avoiding taking a strong position on gay rights issues, did not specify in response to Reuters questions whether it believed the Pride march was lawful, but said those attending deserved the state's protection. "Peter Magyar has called on the Hungarian authorities and police to protect the Hungarian people this Saturday, and on other days as well, even if it means standing up against the arbitrariness of power," its press office said. Magyar himself would not attend. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
European Parliament Wants To Reduce Cost Of Sustainability Reporting Requirements
People walk by a European Union flag (Photo by) The European Parliament is debating legislation to reduce sustainability reporting requirements in the European Union. The original proposal of the European Commission included a drastic reduction of the scope of a pair of sustainability reporting directives. The member leading the drafting of the Parliament's has released his draft proposal, calling for even more cuts, alarming sustainability activists and emboldening business interests. That proposal was debated in the June 24 meeting of the Committee on Legal Affairs, known as JURI. As part of the European Green Deal, a trilogy of directives were passed by the EU to force businesses to address climate change and report greenhouse gas missions. However, the cost of these proposals on businesses and the broader impact on the EU economy became a theme during the 2024 elections. The shift to the right in EU politics embolden opponents. As a result, the Commission proposed a package of new directives to 'reduce the burden' on businesses. The Omnibus Simplification Package was officially adopted by the Commission in February. The proposal is being debated in the Council and the Parliament. In the Parliament, the debate is public and working through multiple committees, giving interest parties and MEPs the opportunity to voice their opinions. JURI, is the primary committee that will produce the legislation that will be sent to the full Parliament for a vote. MEP Jörgen Warborn, of the European People's Party, has been designated as the rapporteur to lead the drafting of the final legislation. Warborn's draft report was made public on June 6. The draft includes 82 proposed amendments. During the June 24 JURI meeting, the Committee addressed the proposed amendments. Warburn was given the opportunity to share his initial proposal and the shadow rapporteurs gave initial comments. Jörgen Warborn Warburn stated the EPP's goal in the proposal. 'We would like to go further in cutting costs, because we need to strengthen European competitiveness in order to create long-term prosperity for European citizens.' To justify the need for cuts, he stated "sustainability rests on three pillars: the environmental pillar, the social pillar, and the economic pillar… if one breaks, the stretcher collapses." He then outlined his 10 key priorities in the proposal: MEP Lara Wolters, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Lara Wolters, of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), stated her group felt the 'Commission proposal was extremely rushed and deeply flawed.' She says that the proposal is not focused on removing the administrative burden, rather on removing accountability. She did not get into the specifics of the S&D proposal, but gave a vigorous counterargument to reductions. Countering the EPP's push to lower costs on businesses, she stated that she 'is not inspired by this… It is our job to weigh public versus private interests. But if costs are all the EPP cares about at the moment, then at least let us be honest that the costs are merely being displaced. Costs reduced for companies here are costs that the world will need to shoulder anyway. Climate denial comes at a cost. So does environmental degradation, exploitation, and inequality. So does feeding populism.' MEP Pascal Canfin, The Renew Group Pascal Canfin, of the Renew Europe Group, stated that he agrees with the EPP on the auditing of the CSRD report. He believes there is room to negotiation on that topic and reduce cost beyond the Commission proposal. He stated that he agrees in cost reduction, but that the EPP proposal does not deliver that. Focusing on capital market union, he said investors need data. The reduction in of the CSRD may save costs on paper, but will increase costs in the long term as investors spend more to gather the data. He will be offering amendments to address those concerns. Renew will also present amendments to address the single market approach and what he views as conflict with the restriction on civil liability causing market fragmentation. He also took issue with the application of the 3000 employee threshold to non-EU companies, claiming that would exempt nearly all non-EU companies from the scope. Interestingly, he stated the calculation of the employee count for non-EU companies is not based on total employees in the EU, rather total employees in a member state. MEP Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, Group of the Greens/ European Free Alliance (EFA) Kira Peter-Hansen, of the Group of the Greens/ European Free Alliance (EFA), stated that they agree with simplification and "reporting must be both meaningful and manageable.' However, she agrees with the S&D that the Omnibus and the EPP proposals go beyond simplification into deregulation. She pointed out that the raised thresholds not only eliminate 80% of the companies, but also some member states as they do not have any companies large enough to comply. She encouraged the use of the EFRAG data to simplify the data points in the European Sustainability Reporting Standards to simplify reporting requirements without 'weakening impact.' She accused the EPP of 'choosing populistic, symbolic changes over actual needed changes that would benefit from a revision." Further, she stated that 'removing climate transition plans completely is not just wrong, it is irresponsible.' She encouraged the adoption of a risk-based approach over the Commission proposal of mapping the value chain, claiming it would increase costs for companies. Finally, she objected to the removal of civil liability in the CSDDD. MEP Arash Saeidi, The Left Group Arash Saeidi, of The Left, opened by stated that 'there are men, women, and children whose rights are being breached and they're just being seen as cogs in the wheel of a production - modern slavery, textiles workers, forced labor to produce our electronics.. workers killed on sites. The CSDDD is designed to put an end to impunity and finally holding companies legally accountable from environmental damage and infringement of human rights.' He stated that The Left will present a proposal to reject all the proposed changes and stay with the existing text in the CSRD and CSDDD. Political parties and MEP had until June 27 to submit amendments. On July 15, the shadow rapporteurs will meet to discus the amendments and begin negotiations. To pass, the proposal needs majority support. Committee opinions are being drafted by Economic and Monetary Affairs, known as ECON, Environment, Climate and Food Safety, known as ENVI, Foreign Affairs, known as AFET, International Trade, known as INTA, and Employment and Social Affairs, known as EMPL. Those will be sent to JURI for consideration. I suspect Warborn's proposal is a negotiation tactic. By promoting a position that is more extreme than the original Commission proposal, the EPP has room to negotiate. However, the recent proposal by the Council was also to the right of the Commission. The final Parliament proposal may end up being the middle ground. JURI is expected to adopt the final language to reduce the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive on October 13. Following the vote of the Parliament, designated representatives from the Parliament, Council, and Commission will enter into "trilogue" negotiations. The proposals from each of the three bodies will vary. The trilogue will negotiate the differences to produce a final directive. That directive will be sent to the Council and Parliament for a final vote in December or January.
Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Hungary's LGBTQ+ community defies government ban on Pride march
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary's LGBTQ+ community is preparing for a face-off with the country's autocratic government, and plans to push ahead with a march in the capital on Saturday despite a government ban and threats of legal repercussions. The populist party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in March fast-tracked a law through parliament that made it an offense to hold or attend events that 'depict or promote' homosexuality to minors aged under 18. Orbán earlier made clear that Budapest Pride — marking its 30th anniversary this year — was the explicit target of the law. But on Friday, Pride organizers along with Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib and Vice President of the European Parliament Nicolae Stefanuta said the march will take place Saturday despite official threats of heavy fines for participants and even jail time for the liberal mayor. They expect the march to be the largest ever Pride event in Hungary. 'The government is always fighting against an enemy against which they have to protect Hungarian people ... This time, it is sexual minorities that are the target,' Karácsony told a news conference. 'We believe there should be no first and second class citizens, so we decided to stand by this event.' Critics of the Pride ban and other Hungarian legislation targeting LGBTQ+ communities say the policies are reminiscent of similar restrictions against sexual minorities in Russia. Hungary's recent law allows authorities to use facial recognition tools to identify individuals that attend a prohibited event. Being caught could result in fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($586.) Orbán, seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in the European Union, has in recent years prohibited same-sex adoption and banned any LGBTQ+ content including in television, films, advertisements and literature that is available to minors. His government argues exposure to such content negatively affects children's development. But opponents say the moves are part of a broader effort to scapegoat sexual minorities and consolidate his conservative base. After police rejected several requests by organizers to register the Pride march, citing the recent law, Karácsony joined with organizers and declared it would be held as a separate municipal event — something he said does not require police approval. But Hungary's government has remained firm, insisting that holding the Pride march, even if it is sponsored by the city, would be unlawful. In a video on Facebook this week, Hungary's justice minister, Bence Tuzson, warned Karácsony that organizing Pride or encouraging people to attend is punishable by up to a year in prison. At the news conference Friday, Karácsony sought to dispel fears that police would impose heavy fines on Pride attendees. 'Police have only one task tomorrow: to guarantee the safety and security of those gathered at the event,' he said. Speaking to state radio on Friday, Orbán said that attending Pride 'will have legal consequences, but it can't reach the level of physical abuse.' 'The police could disperse such events, they have the right to do so. But Hungary is a civilized country,' he said. On Thursday, radical right-wing party Our Homeland Movement announced it had requested police approval to hold assemblies at numerous locations across the city, many of them on the same route as the Pride march. Later, a neo-Nazi group said it too would gather Saturday at Budapest City Hall, from which the Pride march is set to depart. The group declared that only 'white, Christian, heterosexual men and women' were welcome to attend its demonstration. Hungary's Pride ban has prompted a backlash from many of the country's partners and allies. Over 30 foreign embassies signed a joint statement this week expressing their commitment to 'every person's rights to equal treatment and nondiscrimination, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on social platform X on Wednesday, calling on Hungarian authorities to allow Pride to proceed 'without fear of any criminal or administrative sanctions against the organizers or participants.' More than 70 members of the European Parliament, as well as other officials from countries around Europe, are expected to participate in Saturday's march. Lahbib, the European Commissioner, said Friday that 'all eyes are on Budapest' as Pride marchers defy the government's ban. 'The EU is not neutral on hate,' she said. 'We cannot stay passive. We cannot tolerate what is intolerable.' Spike writes for the Associated Press.
