The Czech Republic has announced that it will not be joining the European Commission’s lawsuit against Hungary’s controversial law banning any mention of homosexuality or related topics in schools with pupils under 18. The decision was made by Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky following a cabinet meeting on April 4. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision on Twitter, but the government has given no explanation for the move.

The law, passed by the Hungarian parliament in 2021, has been condemned by the leaders of most EU countries and has been referred to the European Court of Justice by the European Commission in July 2022. The move by the EC could see Hungary stripped of some EU funding.

The law has received widespread criticism for discriminating against sexual minorities and violating fundamental rights of EU citizens and the rules of the EU’s internal market. Budapest presents the law as protecting schoolchildren against sexual abuse, but the EC says that the measures are not justified within this aim and are inappropriate for achieving it.

Lipavsky, who belongs to the Pirate Party, said that his party would not give up on this issue. He also expressed his belief that children are not threatened by seeing such characters on TV or in books, but by artificially inciting hatred or suppressing information.

The decision by the Czech Republic not to join the European lawsuit against Hungary has been met with disappointment by those who had hoped that the country would stand with the rest of the EU against discrimination. The move also raises questions about the country’s commitment to EU values and its willingness to defend them.

The issue of LGBTQ+ rights has become increasingly contentious in Hungary, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party pushing a conservative agenda that includes a crackdown on media freedoms and restrictions on the rights of sexual minorities. The decision by the Czech Republic not to join the lawsuit against Hungary is likely to further exacerbate tensions within the EU over these issues.

Article by Prague Forum