Press release: The Hungarian National Assembly adopts yet another anti-LGBTIQ bill that allows citizens to anonymously report same-sex families with children to authorities

Strasbourg, 19 April 2023

On 11 April the Hungarian National Assembly adopted a new bill on ‘complaints, public interest disclosures, and rules related to reporting abuse’, allowing citizens to anonymously report same-sex couples with children to authorities[1]. The bill is presented under the pretext of upholding the Hungarian Constitution and allows to report the act of questioning the constitutionally defined marriage and family. It infringes on the right to respect for private and family life and the right to be free from discrimination.

These provisions were adopted as part of the transposition of the EU Whistleblower Directive,[2] which seeks to guarantee a high level of protection for whistleblowers who report breaches of EU law by establishing safe channels for reporting[3]. The bill has not yet been promulgated.

The bill was adopted only weeks after 15 Member States and the European Parliament announced they will join the European Court of Justice Case[4] against Hungary’s so-called ‘child protection law’ of 2021[5].

Marc Angel MEP (S&D), Co-President of the LGBTI Intergroup, comments:

The Hungarian government has once again adopted an anti-LGBTIQ bill that attacks rainbow families and the children of same-sex couples. The Hungarian government is adamant about limiting and violating the rights and freedoms of LGBTIQ people – regardless of the consequences it may bear for children, who are merely collateral damage. We will not tolerate this. Every family has the right to private and family life and we will continue to fight for these rights which are fundamental – especially those of children. We call on the government not to promulgate this bill.

Kim Van Sparrentak MEP (Greens/EFA), Co-President of the LGBTI Intergroup, concludes:

The most recent addition to the Hungarian government’s tool-box seeks to instil a sense of permanent vigilance on rainbow families anonymously. Does it bear resemblance? It should, because it will make every citizen complicit in policing lives and relationships. We have historical examples of what denouncing and patrolling of LGBTIQ communities results in – especially with the current rise of LGBTIQ-phobic online hate speech and surveillance technology we must safeguard LGBTIQ rights both online and offline.

[1] Hungarian bill (28 February 2023) “A panaszokról, a közérdekű bejelentésekről, valamint a visszaélések bejelentésével összefüggő szabályokról”. Accessible at: https://www.parlament.hu/irom42/03089/03089.pdf

[2] Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, accessible at  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019L1937&from=EN

[3] European Commission (April 2018), “Whistleblower Protection”. Accessible at https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2018-04/placeholder_11.pdf

[4] CJEU, Action brought on 19 December 2022 — European Commission v Hungary (Case C-769/22) (2023/C 54/19), accessible at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62022CN0769.

[5] EURACTIV (13 April 2023). “15 EU countries sue Orbán’s government in Hungary”. Accessible at https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/podcast/15-eu-countries-sue-orbans-government-in-hungary/

Background information:

The bill allows for reporting the act of ‘questioning’ the constitutionally defined marriage and family. The Hungarian constitution states that marriage is a union between “a man and a woman” and that a family consists of “the mother that is a woman and the father that is a man”. The bill additionally allows to target those who question the ‘right of children to the self-identity in accordance with the sex at birth’.

Press contacts:

Office of Marc Angel – Daniel Constantinides (Daniel.Constantinides@europarl.europa.eu)

Office of Kim van Sparrentak – Lowie Kok (Lowie.Kok@europarl.europa.eu)