BRUSSELS – The European Union will not provide funds to six Polish cities that have declared themselves “LGBT-free zones”, a rare financial sanction by a member nation for issues related to equal treatment of its citizens.
While the amounts of money withheld are modest, at $ 6,000 to $ 29,000, the exclusion of cities from funding a program connecting local communities in Europe was intended to have a deeper symbolic resonance.
“Member States and state authorities must respect the fundamental values and rights of the EU,” Helena Dalli, European Union Commissioner for Equality, wrote on Twitter. The Polish authorities that adopted the “LGBT-free zones” or “family rights” resolutions did not protect those rights, she wrote, and their requests for funding were therefore rejected.
The decision comes just days after leaders of the 27-nation European Union bowed to pressure from Poland and Hungary and relaxed a framework devised to link the bloc’s long-term budget spending to rule of law issues. .
Both countries, to varying degrees, have consistently removed some of the fundamental institutions that enable a healthy democracy, including a free press and a judicial system free of political influence.
But even though Poland and Hungary have caused increasing dismay in Brussels (both countries have been threatened with the suspension of their voting rights in the bloc), they have faced few concrete penalties.
However, even by the often brutal standards of Polish politics, the demonization of gays and lesbians by government officials in the past two years has been fierce.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling party, has repeatedly told his supporters that Poles will not be forced to “stay under the rainbow flag.” She has said that homosexuality represents a “threat to Polish identity, to our nation, to its existence and therefore to the Polish state.”
Almost 100 local governments, representing a third of the territory of Poland, declared themselves “free from LGBT ideology”.
Although the statements have no legal force, they are seen by many as threatening. And heated rhetoric has been blamed for violence against gay and lesbian men.
When protesters attempted to participate in a gay pride parade in the conservative city of Bialystok last summer, opponents threw bricks, stones, and fireworks at them. Some protesters were attacked and, as the violent clashes increased, with dozens of wounded, the police had to deploy tear gas.
A few months later, in December, the European Parliament condemned discrimination against the LGBTQ community and called on the government to take measures to revoke the statements of local authorities. Nothing was done
During Poland’s recent presidential elections in July, the ruling party once again targeted gay, lesbian and transgender men. President Andrzej Duda said “LGBT ideology” was more dangerous than communist doctrine and made it the central theme of his campaign.
He narrowly won a second term, but close fighting and divisive rhetoric further polarized Polish society.
Some western European municipalities, such as St.-Jean-de-Braye, in the Loiret region, in north-central France, have already suspended cooperation with the cities with which they were twinned in Poland and declared themselves “free of LGBT. “
Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said on Wednesday that the funding decision was “unfounded and illegal”, arguing that European institutions must respect the national identities of all member countries.
Mr. Ziobro denounced the European Commission, saying that some of its members were “ideologically opinionated” and wanted to impose “the agenda of gay activists” on others.
But Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, which distributes the funds of the European Union, defended the decision to refuse to send money to Polish cities.
“Our treaties ensure that every person in Europe is free to be who they are, live wherever they want, love whoever they want and aim as high as they want,” he said in a statement Thursday. “I will continue to push for a union of equality.”
