The ECJ ruled the Hungarian laws interfered with certain rights, including the right to freedom of expression, the right to privacy and respect for family life, and the right to be free from discrimination based upon sex or sexual orientation. The court also found that the law stigmatised and marginalised transgender people and those who are not heterosexual, and linked them to people convicted of paedophilia. “You cannot equate something that is totally natural, like 10% of the population loving the same sex, with egregious crimes,” he told BBC. Orban’s Fidesz was able push through the legislation thanks to a supermajority. They control two-thirds in parliament. The Fidesz party passed an amendment last year that allowed a ban on events involving the LGBTQ Community, such as Budapest’s Pride march. This march went ahead despite this ban, prompting prosecutors and the European Commission to file charges against the Mayor Gergely Karcsony. The issue will be resolved once the Hungarian government abides by the ruling, said Paula Pinho, a spokeswoman for the Tisza party that defeated Orban in the 12 April election. Peter Magyar has not made any comments about the laws affecting Hungary’s LGBTQ communities. In his victory speech he described his vision of Hungary as a place “where no one is stigmatised because they think differently or love differently than the rest”. Magyar has promised a more pro-European attitude to Hungary’s relationship with the EU, and it will be his government’s responsibility to reverse the His Tisza Party has a two-thirds majority of 141 seats in a 199-seat National Assembly. He has also promised unlock billions in EU funding for Hungary that was blocked due to issues around the rule of law. Katja Stefanec-Gartner, of LGBTQ rights group Il The BBC reported that the ECJ ruling may have wider implications for other EU member countries, as the Commission can now go to a state with a similar warning over rule of law. “You are basically breaking EU law in such an important way that we are not only holding to account for the letter of the laws but also for the spirit of those laws, which are laid out in Article 2, listing all the values of pluralitism, equality, and rule of law,” Morijn stated.
