Hungary accuses Dutch MP of interference after criticism of pride ban
The Hungarian government has accused Tweede Kamer member Caroline van der Plas of illegal interference in the country’s internal affairs, following a letter she sent criticizing Hungary's new law that makes the Budapest Pride march on June 28 impossible, according to NRC.
Barna Pál Szigmond, Hungary’s undersecretary for European Union affairs and a member of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, sent a sharply worded letter to the Dutch Tweede Kamer’s Committee on European Affairs. The letter, which has not yet been made public, states that the committee is attempting to "influence the internal affairs of a sovereign country" and calls this "completely undemocratic and illegal."
The undersecretary’s response targets a March 24 letter from Van der Plas, chair of the Committee on European Affairs and leader of the BBB, addressed to Szigmond’s minister. In that letter, she expressed the committee’s "deepest concerns" about the Hungarian legislation, condemned the law "in the strongest possible terms," and urged the government to repeal it. She also called on Hungary to "ensure that the rights of the LGBTQI community in Hungary are respected and protected."
The Hungarian law in question subordinates "the right to freedom of assembly" to "the protection of children," effectively giving authorities a legal basis to ban events such as the Pride march.
Szigmond also criticized the tone of Van der Plas’s letter, calling it "controversial" and implying that she was trying to "advise Hungarians on how to live." He further took issue with her absence during the Tweede Kamer committee’s working visit to Budapest in late March, saying she missed the chance to "observe the situation firsthand." Van der Plas had remained in The Hague due to work obligations, and VVD lawmaker Thom van Campen led the visit in her place.
The visit coincided with the Tweede Kamer passing a motion with broad support, calling on the Dutch cabinet under Prime Minister Dick Schoof to pressure the European Commission to reduce EU funding to Hungary unless the country ends its violations of the rule of law.
Szigmond noted that Van der Plas should have been present in Budapest during the visit, even though he himself had canceled his planned meeting with the Dutch delegation. While in Budapest, the lawmakers met with LGBTQI+ organizations. According to Van Campen, these groups "are being intimidated and humiliated," and transgender people, in particular, face severe difficulties.
Reacting to the Hungarian undersecretary’s letter, Van Campen said, "We have clearly struck a nerve, and that is a very good thing. They have obviously registered that the Tweede Kamer will not accept the way Hungary is violating the rule of law on many fronts. Think of corruption and the protection of minorities."
Szigmond’s letter also contains a personal comment on Van der Plas, calling her "inconsistent" and accusing her of previously labeling "trans, queer, intersex, and asexual" people as "crazy" on social media. This appears to be a reference to remarks Van der Plas made during a Tweede Kamer debate in the summer of 2024, where she criticized what she described as "very explicit" sex education being given to "five- or six-year-olds." She called it "gekkigheid" (craziness) and referred to "the whole letter box," saying she could not identify all the letters used to describe different sexual identities. Her comments drew sharp criticism at the time, to which she responded forcefully, saying she was "not homophobic" and believed that "whatever their orientation and whoever they are, people themselves don’t want to be reduced to just a letter."
The Tweede Kamer’s Committee on European Affairs is scheduled to discuss the Hungarian government’s letter during its meeting on Wednesday. Van der Plas told NRC she cannot comment in detail before the meeting but called it "remarkable" that the letter focuses so personally on her. "We as a committee have never experienced anything like this before," she said.
