The European Commission rejected funding for six Polish cities that declared themselves “LGBT-free,” a growing local trend in which municipalities issue declaring unwelcoming towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
“EU values and fundamental rights must be respected by member states and state authorities,” European Union Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli wrote in a tweet announcing the rejection.
A spokesman for the European Commission told NBC News in an email that the commission would not name the six cities, but said there is “a fundamental principle of equal treatment that is at the heart of our selection processes.”
The decision means that requests from these six undisclosed cities to “twin” with other cities in the European Union, similar to “sister cities” in the United States, were rejected. Applications can unlock up to 25,000 euros in funds for conferences and other group building activities.
“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,” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen tweeted. “I will keep pushing for a #UnionOfEquality.”
The issue of LGBTQ rights has recently divided Poland.
Earlier this month, conservative President Andrzej Duda was reelected by a narrow margin with 51 percent of the vote. Duda campaigned against LGBTQ equality, promising that homosexuals would be prohibited from marrying and that LGBTQ topics would be prohibited in school curricula.
Other western European cities have already canceled their “twinning” agreements with “LGBT-free” Polish peoples before the recent rejection by the European Commission.
Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro called the rejection “illegal”, urging the European Union Commission to revoke his investment, arguing that the EU should respect the views of all citizens.
The trend began in March 2019 when small cities passed resolutions that declared themselves free of “LGBT ideology.” Since then, dozens of cities have followed, and now about a third of Poland’s population lives in these municipalities.
The movement of Poland’s “LGBT-free zone” has already caused international waves. Last year, under pressure, Carnegie Hall canceled an event linked to a Polish magazine that first circulated the “LGBT-free zone” stickers in its July 2019 issue.
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