Netherlands leads fierce criticism of Hungary's new LGBTQIA+ laws

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Caspar Veldkamp, has led an initiative that has resulted in 16 European Union member states condemning the changes to LGBTQIA+ laws in Hungary. The member states announced their condemnation in a statement in which they called on Hungary to review the laws. According to the member states, the European Commission will be forced to take action if this does not happen.

“We are deeply concerned by recent legislative and constitutional amendments infringing on the fundamental rights of LGBTIQ+ persons which were adopted by the Hungarian Parliament on 18 March and 14 April 2025 following other anti-LGBTIQ+ legislation already introduced in previous years,” the statement read. The annual Pride event in Budapest was recently banned by the Hungarian parliament.

The member states feel that the laws go against “the fundamental values ​​of human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights, as enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union."

Hungary has to protect and respect the human rights and fundamental rights of all people, including the LGBTQIA+ community, due to it being a member of the EU. The signees feel that Hungary is not doing this at the moment.

The signatories, including Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, and Ireland, are calling on the European Commission to intervene if Hungary does not change its stance. EU sources expect more member states to join the call.

The commission could decide to withhold subsidies from the nation. There has also been talk of taking away Hungary’s voting rights in meetings with EU leaders since 2018, but no procedures have begun for this as of yet.

EU foreign affairs ministers will discuss the current rule of law in Hungary on Tuesday.