Hungary gets a harsh rebuke from a European Prime Minister

Luxembourg’s openly gay prime minister Xavier Bettel criticised the Hungarian government in a speech in the European Parliament on Wednesday. According to Bettel, the Hungarian laws have a negative impact on the LGBTQ community in Hungary.

Harsh criticism from Luxembourg

“If there is anybody in this house who seriously thinks that a man can become homosexual by watching TV or listening to songs, he doesn’t understand anything,” said Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg.

In Hungary, a law was passed two years ago restricting content that depicts homosexuality. Mr Bettel said the Hungarian government under Viktor Orbán had no understanding of how countries in the European Union thought about homosexuality.

The Luxembourg head of government said that it is very difficult for homosexuals to accept themselves, and that in many countries outside the EU they would be at risk if they came out as homosexual. “And it may soon be that I can only talk about it in secret in a member state of the European Union, otherwise I will be accused of corrupting the younger generation,” Bettel is quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg has spoken out on the issue several times recently. “My mother hates that I am gay. I have to live with that. But now you have passed a law about it. I respect you, but this red line, which is about fundamental human rights, the right to be different, has now been crossed.”

Hungarian response to the accusations

Tamás Deutsch, Fidesz MEP, said that Luxembourg is one of the founders of the European Community and Hungary has a special respect for them, writes index.hu.

“I respectfully ask you not to classify the Hungarian child protection law as a homophobic law by stating an untruth, because the Hungarian child protection law is about one thing only, how to protect the inalienable right of parents to raise their children,” Deutsch said.

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