Hungary and its anti-LGBT law have no place in the EU, says Dutch PM

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has questioned the future of Hungary in the European Union if the country keeps contravening the Union’s core values. "Then they have nothing to do in the EU as far as I am concerned," Rutte said in Brussels on Thursday.

Hungary came under fire over its controversial new law intended to ban the ‘promotion of homosexuality’. The discriminatory law prohibits sharing with minors any content that portrays being gay or transgender. It also conflates pedophilia with LGBTQ+ issues. The legislation was passed by lawmakers in Hungary last week.

"The legislation must be repealed. In our eyes, it is completely contrary to the values we stand for. The country must repeal the law and get on its knees," Rutte said about the Hungarian law. "This is such a fundamental point, that if we let that go, we are nothing more than a trading bloc and a currency."

In a joint statement with various other European Union countries, the Netherlands officially condemned new anti-LGBTQ+ laws recently implemented in Hungary. The new laws discriminate against LGBTQ+ people and "violate the right to freedom of expression under the pretext of protecting children," the countries said.

The law has been described as another attack on the central European country's sexual and gender minorities ahead of the 2022 elections deemed crucial for Prime Minister Orban. 

"But with the system that we have, it's not about what we or any other member state says. We cannot say, 'You have to get out.' That has to be done step by step and one can only hope that they will change in the meantime," he said.

Rotterdam’s Erasmus Bridge and several city halls and landmarks around the Netherlands were lit up in rainbow colors on Wednesday evening in protest against the new law.