LGBTI rights: EU should show more ambition

The European Council of Ministers of Social Policy has adopted a Council conclusion on LGBTI issues for the first time. “That in itself is a historic event. And even though it just concerns a limited number of actions, it means significant progress for the EU,” Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities Elke Sleurs states. “But we would have preferred endorsing a more ambitious text.”

Various EU member states, including Belgium, have been asking for an EU roadmap to support the LGBTI-community (lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transsexual and intersex) for years. Up till now, this seemed impossible given the high sensitivity in some member states, such as Poland and Hungary. “We see a trend in Europe in which the rights of LGBTI people are compromised,” Elke Sleurs says. “Gay marriage and adoption are legal in Belgium, for example, but those Belgian contracts are not recognised in certain member states, let alone that their own citizens have such freedoms.”

More commitment needed

Consequently, the Secretary of State also regrets that the adopted text was toned down during the final stage. For example, at Poland and Hungary’s request, an explicit addition prohibiting tampering with “constitutional traditions” was made. In Hungary, for example, the constitution stipulates that marriage can only take place exclusively between a man and a woman. “However, traditional, cultural or religious values cannot be invoked to justify any form of discrimination,” Elke Sleurs comments.

“It is high time for the European Union to take more initiatives to promote the equality of LGBTI-people, at a legislative level as well as on the level of awareness-raising. In that way the EU must finally adopt a directive that requires member states to expand their anti-discrimination legislation to include discrimination against LGBTI people,” Elke Sleurs concludes.