Press Release: Europe’s LGBTI Leaders Call on Brussels to Defend Assembly Rights
As Pride restrictions, violence and funding cuts spread across Europe, ILGA Europe and EPOA call on Brussels to treat threats to Pride as threats to democracy itself.
ILGA Europe and the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) have today launched Protect Pride. Protect Democracy., a campaign and open letter urging European institutions to recognise restrictions on Pride as warning signs of broader democratic erosion.
As Pride season continues across Europe, the campaign highlights a simple but often overlooked reality: every Pride event depends on the freedoms of assembly, expression and participation in public life. These rights belong to everyone, and they form the foundations of democratic societies.
The campaign comes amid growing concern about restrictions affecting Pride events and civic space across parts of Europe. These take many forms: Pride bans, state violence, inadequate protection from counter protesters, defunding by local authorities, corporate reversals on DEI commitments, online hate and misinformation, the burning of rainbow flags, and physical attacks on marchers.
The campaign argues that when authorities restrict who can gather, speak or be visible in public spaces, whatever means they use, the implications extend far beyond any single community.
According to Patrick van der Pass, of EPOA: “Pride is not simply a celebration. It is one of the most visible expressions of the freedoms that underpin democratic societies: the freedom to gather, the freedom to speak, and the freedom to be seen. For millions of people across Europe, Pride is what those freedoms look like in practice.”
The open letter calls on President Ursula von der Leyen and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President Kallas to:
- Recognise restrictions on Pride as indicators of democratic backsliding;
- publicly respond when Pride events and organisers come under attack; and
- strengthen protections for the right to peaceful assembly across Europe.
Katrin Hugendubel, Deputy Director of ILGA-Europe adds: “Generations of Europeans worked to cultivate societies rooted in freedom, dignity and democracy. Our leaders have a duty to honour what they built by protecting the freedoms that allow Pride, and the democratic values it represents, to flourish. Protecting these freedoms today will help ensure that future generations inherit a Europe that is open, democratic and inclusive for all.”
The campaign invites individuals and organisations to sign the open letter and support stronger protections for democratic freedoms across Europe.
It can be found at protectprideprotectdemocracy.com
Protect Pride. Protect Democracy.
