CNN
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At least 70 members of the European Parliament are planning to attend this year’s Pride celebration in Budapest, Hungary, despite the state’s ban on LGBTQ gatherings, officials told CNN.
Earlier this year, Hungarian lawmakers will pass a new law banning pride events within the country, allowing authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify people who will take part in events that will move forward despite the ban.
However, according to a spokesman for the European Union co-chairman Kim Van Sparentac, who spokesman for the European Union, the European Parliament co-chairman Kim Van Sparentac, anyway, officials from at least six groups of European Parliament plan to attend Budapest’s annual Pride Margin anyway.
The Intergroup states that it is an “unofficial forum for members of the European Parliament (MEP) who wants to promote and protect the fundamental rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people.
Budapest’s pride remains determined in the face of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban and his government.
Organizers vowed to hold events anyway, calling on “international allies, activists and friends” to take part in the Pride Parade in the Hungarian capital on June 28th.
Van Sparentak, Dutch MEP of the Parliament’s “Green/European Freedom Alliance” political group, told CNN that he would let them know “to support the Hungary LGBTIQ+ community and let them know they’re not alone.”
“Pride is a protest and one election that leaves all pride away from being banned if Orban can ban Budapest’s pride without consequences,” she continued.
Mark Angel, another co-chairman of Intergroup, told CNN that he told Budapest Pride this year that he was “under attack” in Hungary.
Angel said he “defends the right to gather as a fundamental right in Europe,” adding that he hopes to “show to the Hungarians who believe that they are not alone in democracy and Europe.”
On Tuesday, a group of 20 European Union countries signed a letter urging Hungary to amend its “anti-LGBTIQ+ laws,” asking the Commission to “ensure that the law’s rules box is free to be used if this does not occur.”
Angel suggested that some of these mechanisms include halting EU funds in Hungary and enacting infringement procedures against the state for failing to implement EU law.
Tuesday letters said Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Sweden, “the deep law.”
The use of facial recognition software to identify people attending prohibited events has also been condemned, with countries saying “these measures are concerned about freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly and the right to privacy.”
“Respect and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people, including LGBTIQ+, is inherent to being part of the European family. This is the responsibility and shared commitment of member states and European institutions,” the letter read.
CNN contacted the Hungarian government for comment.
