Hungary has breached EU principles by passing a law that prevents children from accessing LGBT-related content, according to a ruling by the bloc’s highest court, which has instructed Budapest to repeal the measure.
The European Court of Justice delivered its decision on Tuesday, less than ten days after Viktor Orbán experienced a significant electoral loss to his long-time opponent, Péter Magyar.
The disputed legislation — Hungary’s 2021 law limiting or prohibiting the “promotion” of homosexuality and gender transition in media available to minors — was introduced under the EU’s broader framework for protecting children from harmful content. However, Hungary’s interpretation of these rules sparked strong opposition in Brussels, ultimately leading the European Commission to bring the case before the court.
RT reports: The Court of Justice said it found the law in violation of the very values the EU is purportedly built upon and is “in breach of the freedom to provide and receive services.” Apart from that, the law entails “restrictions on freedom” and discriminates “based on sex or sexual orientation,” stigmatizing and marginalizing people of “non-cisgender persons.”
“The Court emphasizes, in particular, the margin of assessment that the Member States have, in the absence of harmonizing rules at the EU level, when defining the content, including audiovisual content, which is likely to impair the physical, mental, or moral development of minors,” the judiciary said in a statement, warning that said “margin of assessment” must be exercised in line with the bloc’s Charter.
Budapest is now obliged to comply with the ruling and repel the law, the court said. Failure to comply may bring “further action seeking financial penalties,” it warned.
The court’s ruling is bound to become a major test for Magyar, who now must choose between his pro-EU commitments and the risk of angering Hungary’s conservatives. Magyar has campaigned on fixing ties with Brussels and unblocking more than €16 billion ($19 billion) in the bloc’s funding for Hungary, which ended up frozen under Orban over rule-of-law and corruption allegations.