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Perhaps the harshest criticism at the start of the meeting came from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
“In my opinion, Hungary no longer has a place in the EU,” he told reporters.
However, the socially conservative and nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who had often quarreled with EU leaders in the past, claimed that they had misunderstood the new legislation.
“He is not against homosexuality … The point is the rights of children and parents,” he said.
On Thursday, the leaders of 17 EU countries signed a letter condemning “threats to fundamental rights, in particular the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.”
Earlier this week, the same countries, including the heavyweights of the Community in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, expressed “serious concern” about the law passed in Hungary.
The issue came to the fore in EU politics when the Association of European Football Federations (UEFA) did not allow rainbow lighting in the Munich Stadium during Wednesday’s European Championship matches between Germany and Hungary.
“Unacceptable”
Other EU leaders, following the post-Orban red rally, did not spare any criticism of the Hungarian law either.
The Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheal Martin, considers it “contrary to a fundamental value of the European Union” and the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, called the legislation “unacceptable”.
French President Emmanuel Macron has been more moderate, saying he would think carefully before demanding that another EU country repeal a law.
“But I will defend our values, and I would say that this law … does not seem to me to be in line with our values,” said the French leader.
Mr Rutte, for his part, argued that “the long-term objective is to overthrow Hungary at this point [naujojo įstatymo]”.
The European Commission said it would challenge the legal basis of the new law, and EU executive Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that Hungarian law “clearly discriminates against people because of their sexual orientation.”
Speaking at the opening of the summit, Antonio Guterres, head of the United Nations, said about Hungarian law: “No discrimination is acceptable under any circumstances, and any discrimination against LGBTIQ + people is completely unacceptable in our modern societies.”
However, Orban repulsed the attack.
He accused EU leaders of not including enough in the text of the law and said that if asked that question, he would answer that “the point is how the child learns about his sexuality … and the decisions involved are exclusively a matter of the parents. “
Discussions about Russia
Another source of friction at this summit was the unexpected call from Germany and France to resume dialogue with Russia and consider talks with the country’s president, Vladimir Putin.
“We will talk about how we can respond to [Rusijos] provocations and how we could create formats for negotiations, ”said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Macron argued that the EU would be “demanding” in any discussion with Putin because “we do not want to renounce any of our values.”
At the time, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjanis Karinis seemed skeptical, saying that “the Kremlin does not understand such a policy” and only recognizes the display of power.
The EU’s response to the coronavirus pandemic also remains high on the meeting’s agenda, although this issue is likely to receive less attention than in previous months.
Merkel said she was “concerned about the Delta option, which is starting to have an effect in the European Union.”
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (EDCC) reported this week that by the end of August, Delta variant coronavirus infections are likely to account for 90%. all new cases of COVID-19 registered.
Merkel said she would call for “even more coordinated” restrictions on entry from countries where the Delta option prevails.
This could affect the plans of ex-EU members residing in the UK to visit Europe. In the UK, the proportion of Delta variant coronavirus infections among all COVID-19 cases reported domestically has risen sharply recently.
