Our submission to the EC 2022 Rule of Law Report

In January 2022 ILGA-Europe compiled a submission to the European Commission’s public consultation ahead of the 2022 Rule of Law report. The submission covered rule of law developments related to LGBTI rights in the year 2021 in 13 EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain.

Expert contributions were provided by organisations PROUD (Czech Republic), LGBT komiteen (Denmark), Inter-LGBT (France), HĂ¡ttĂ©r TĂ¡rsasĂ¡g (Hungary), KPH & Atlas of Hate (Poland), ACCEPT (Romania), and Legebrita (Slovenia).

The developments encompassed in the submission point to systematic attacks on the fundamental rights of LGBTI people enabled by the weakening of rule of law and democratic structures. We have not included all fundamental rights violations against LGBTI people, or all restrictions experienced by LGBTI civil society in the respective countries, only those which are relevant to the respective headings of the consultation, where there is a clear link to rule of law.

Notably the submission covers the following topics:

  • Political interference or bias in court cases related to LGBTI rights, in particular where independence of the judiciary is under attack;
  • Anti-LGBTI bias, smear campaigns and censorship of LGBTI content, in particular where media freedom is under attack;
  • Funding restrictions or discriminatory distribution of public or EU funds, affecting LGBTI organisations;
  • Arbitrary application of Covid-19 regulations to attempt to restrict the freedom of assembly of LGBTI people;
  • Covid-19 emergency measures affecting the process of preparing and enacting laws (exclusion of LGBTI CSOs in consultation phases or even fast-track adoption of legislation directly attacking LGBTI people);
  • Non-implementation of CJEU or ECtHR judgements which would improve the lives of LGBTI people;
  • Judicial harassment of LGBTI activists (in particular SLAPPs);
  • Insufficient follow-up of anti-LGBTI hate crime cases;
  • Anti-LGBTI discriminatory speech from political and religious leaders affecting public perception of LGBTI CSOs and creating an unsafe climate for LGBTI human rights defenders (in some cases leading to attacks on CSO offices, employees and volunteers).

See also

Blog

ACCEPT – Strength in solidarity and a call for change

The Romanian LGBTI organisation, ACCEPT plays an important role in co-hosting the ILGA-Europe conference this year. Co-president Teo Ion-Rotaru shares her insights into what the […]
read more
Blog

Meet our Annual Conference hosts: MozaiQ – The courage to grow the movement in Romania

As the ILGA-Europe annual conference approaches, we turn our focus to one of the local co-hosts, MozaiQ, an organisation that has played a crucial role […]
read more
News

Joint statement: EU Court of Justice strengthens trans rights by calling for the automatic recognition in birth certificates

ACCEPT, TGEU and ILGA-Europe welcome today’s decision of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU)   said that the refusal of an EU Member State […]
read more
Blog

Annual Conference logo launch: The Power of Curaj

Learn about the courage captured in our branding for this year’s ILGA-Europe conference As we launch our new logo for the ILGA-Europe conference in Bucharest, […]
read more
News

Joint statement: Welcoming European Court judgement on Poland’s failure to protect same-sex couples married abroad

The European Court of Human Rights has found that Poland breached the right to respect for the family life of two same-sex Polish couples married […]
read more
News

Joint statement: EU Court of Justice Advocate General calls on Hungary to correct trans refugee’s gender marker in national registries

HĂ¡ttĂ©r Society, ILGA-Europe and TGEU welcome an opinion from the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union stating that Hungarian immigration […]
read more
Blog

LGBTI activism in the new far-right era

Activists in the Balkans, Greece, Italy and Poland talk about the shared challenges across Europe as the far-right continues to gain ground. As the far-right […]
read more
News

Trans woman should have been allowed access to hormone therapy in prison, says European Court

The European Court of Human Rights has found that Poland violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, protecting the right to private […]
read more
Blog

What European countries might soon start recognising non-binary people?

Interested in the current state of non-binary rights in Europe? This concise guide covers the most important updates and developments you should be aware of […]
read more
News

Joint Statement welcoming CJEU Advocate General on collection of gender binary civil titles

ILGA-Europe, TGEU and Association Mousse welcome the opinion of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union confirming that the French […]
read more
Blog

Remarkable and resilient Prides across Europe

Amid political turmoil, war, social issues and cultural changes, Pride celebrations in Europe continue to demonstrate the resilience and determination of LGBTI communities Today, on […]
read more
Podcast

What the EU Election Results Will Mean for LGBTI Human Rights

Although the swing to the far right predicted in the European elections hasn’t been as radical as expected, with the progressive and centre-right still holding […]
read more
News

EU Court of Justice Advocate General calls for automatic recognition of legal gender recognition in birth certificates

In a significant development regarding the rights of trans people in the European Union, the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European […]
read more
Report

Our submission to the EC 2024 Rule of Law report

Over the past few years it has become increasingly clear that many government-led violations of LGBTI rights in EU Member States go hand-in-hand with an […]
read more
News

Poland must ensure that same-sex couples are legally recognised, European Court rules

The European Court of Human Rights has issued a judgement against Poland in a case taken by five same-sex couples in the country, seeking to […]
read more
News

Effective campaigns in support of LGBTI rights: How to avoid instrumentalisation and communicate without playing into polarisation?

All over Europe and Central Asia, LGBTI people are used by different political payers to gain the power. Our opponents create and feed harmful and […]
read more
Press Release

Slovenia about to make a crucial step towards equality for LGBTIQ+ people

Today at a conference in Ljubljana, organised by Europe’s leading LGBTI organisation, ILGA-Europe, Slovenia’s State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Dan Juvan, committed to the next steps in preparing the National Strategy for the Equality of LGBTIQ+ Persons.
read more
News

New draft law in Hungary seeks to exculde trans women from pension benefits

Dear President of the European Commission, We are writing concerning the recent introduction of a new bill in the Hungarian Parliament to further curtail the […]
read more
News

Romania failed to protect same-sex couples, European court rules

European court has found that Romania breached the right to respect for the family life of 21 same-sex Romanian couples by failing to recognise their relationships.
read more
News

Bringing change in turbulent times: A call for applications for LGBTI groups in Poland

What is this programme about and why are we launching it? ILGA-Europe invites applications from LGBTI organisations and groups in Poland that see a concrete […]
read more
Blog

The infringement against Hungary: Behind the scenes

As the deadline for member states to decide whether they will join the European Commission’s lawsuit against Hungary for its introduction of anti-LGBTI legislation fast approaches, we look at the vital work ILGA-Europe has been doing behind the scenes to bring this case before the EU Court of Justice and to bring countries on board.
read more
Press Release

Romanian transgender man’s landmark case requesting that Romania acknowledges his UK gender recognition referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union

Arian Mirzarafie-Ahi, a transgender man with Romanian and British citizenship, has filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in Romania against Romanian authorities over their refusal to recognize […]
read more
Blog

The 5 largest attacks on the fundamental rights of LGBTI people in the EU last year

In our submission to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law report, we’ve identified key trends in the systematic attacks on the rights of LGBTI […]
read more
Report

Our submission to the EC 2023 Rule of Law report

The submission covers developments in eight EU Member States as regards rule of law developments in the countries which have had an impact on the […]
read more
News

After Polish Case, CJEU Rules to Protect Self-employed Workers based on Sexual Orientation

In December 2017, a self-employed worker and his partner published a music video on YouTube aimed at promoting tolerance towards same-sex couples. Shortly after the […]
read more
News

Annual Conference 2023: Location Announcement

As we get ready to travel to Bulgaria for the ILGA-Europe annual conference in Sofia next week, we’re delighted to announce that the city for next year’s conference has been chosen.
read more
News

Sexual orientation is not a reason to terminate a contract with a self-employed worker, says Advocate General of the CJEU

Today, the Advocate General of the CJEU has issued an opinion in the case of J.K. vs the Polish public broadcaster company TP, stating that discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment is not acceptable under EU law.
read more
News

Rainbow families have the right to move and reside freely, EU court reiterates

The Court of Justice of the EU has stated that birth certificates issued in an EU country must be recognised across the EU, and that EU countries should protect the freedom of movement of rainbow families.
read more
News

Hungary to be Brought Before Top EU Court For its Ban on LGBTI Content

The European Commission has referred Hungary to the CJEU over discriminatory amendments adopted in June 2021, which ban the “portrayal and the promotion of gender […]
read more
News

Complaint Filed with EC Against Lack of Free Movement for Same-sex Couples in Hungary

ILGA-Europe, alongside a Hungarian activist organisation, have filed a complaint against Hungary because of its refusal to implement the 2018 Coman judgement, which recognises that […]
read more