The European Union’s (EU) executive has threatened Poland with legal actions for creating “LGBT-free zones” in some parts of the country in violation of the Union’s laws.
On Wednesday, the bloc members condemned these zones and reiterated their commitment to ensuring the rights of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community in all member states. The legal action, also known as infringement procedure, would require Poland to eliminate such free zones, and failure to comply could attract heavy penalties. The legal actions, if finalised, could come this month.
In response, the spokesperson for the Polish government said: “There are no laws in Poland that would discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation.”
In June 2020, the EU suspended subsidies to the “LGBT-free zones,” and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, in her Union address, said such zones have no place in the EU. In addition, the bloc declined to provide aid worth $2.25 million to the southeastern region of Podkarpackie in the Carpathian Mountains over its anti-LGBT policies.
Moreover, at the European Council Meeting on June 24-25, leaders signed a letter addressed to the EU officials reaffirming their commitment to the rights of the LGBT+ people. Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, said in a tweet: “Hate, intolerance and discrimination have no place in our Union. That’s why, today and every day, we stand for diversity and LGBTI equality so that our future generations can grow up in a Europe of equality and respect.”
Despite being a major beneficiary of EU funds, Poland refuses to comply with the Union’s law, citing the need to protect the country’s tradition and Catholic laws. In this regard, the ruling nationalist party of Poland has included anti-gay policies in its governing agendas and has restricted same-sex couples from adopting children, besides declaring more than 100 towns as “LGBT-free.” Some areas located east and southeast of Poland and traditionally Catholic called these anti-LGBT policies a “charter for family rights.”
Furthermore, the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, during his election campaign in 2020, called homosexuality a “foreign ideology that is worse than communism.” Likewise, Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek condemned pride parades in Warsaw last month for “promoting deviancy” and referred to it as a distortion of equality and tolerance.
In addition, the Education Minister on Monday suggested adopting legislation similar to the Hungarian law that bans the dissemination of content on homosexuality and transgender people to the under-18 age group. Reuters reported the Minister as saying that “this law states that school lessons touching on questions of sexuality must not promote gender reassignment or homosexuality.”
On the other hand, several Polish courts have declared these anti-LGBT rules unconstitutional and discriminatory. In this regard, an association based out of Europe announced that Poland is the “worst place in the EU for LGBTQ+ people.”
Apart from this, Poland is already under investigation by a special EU agency for “undercutting the rule of law.” Poland and the Union have also sparred over women’s rights, freedom of the press, control over the courts, and the rejection of immigration from Africa and the Middle East. Although legal actions against Poland are still being discussed, the Union has adopted a strict stance against member states accused of violating fundamental rights and the rule of law.
EU Threatens Poland With Legal Action Over “LGBT-Free” Zones
The European Union has threatened Poland with legal actions, which could result in heavy penalties, for the creation of “LGBT-free” zones and discrimination against the LGBT+ people.
July 2, 2021
SOURCE: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH