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On June 18, 2025, the European Parliament held a debate titled “Freedom of assembly in Hungary and the need for the Commission to act,” initiated mainly by the Greens/EFA group and supported by other far-left blocs, such as the S&D, Renew Europe, and the Left. The European People’s Party (EPP) notably remained silent when the topic was added to the agenda.
This debate follows a public letter signed by multiple MEPs urging European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to take active measures on the matter, as well as Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony’s plans to hold the June 28 Budapest Pride event despite legal challenges.
Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath opened the debate, emphasizing that in the Commission’s opinion the law in question breaches fundamental human rights.
We are assessing this new Hungarian law, and the implications it may have under European law.”
Speaking on behalf of the ruling Fidesz party, MEP Kinga Gál, first Vice-President of the Patriots for Europe group, and MEP András László defended the law, arguing for its necessity and rejecting accusations that it infringes on fundamental rights.
This is precisely the 30th time that the left-liberal majority in the European Parliament has put our country on the agenda,”
stated MEP Gál.
“Most of the time, this is done with complete indifference, using the same false accusations and outrageous double standards. (…) While this parliament attacks Hungary, it awkwardly avoids putting truly serious scandals on the agenda. Where is the debate on the European Court of Justice’s ruling condemning the Commission in the Pfizer case? Where is the debate on the Commission’s opaque NGO funding? There is a deep silence on these issues. The patriots have initiated debates, but our proposals are routinely swept aside by the left-liberal People’s Party coalition.”
MEP László, who is also the Hungarian government’s commissioner in charge of investigations into the USAID’s activities in Hungary, criticized the foreign influence behind the upcoming Budapest Pride event. “The organizations organizing Budapest Pride have received hundreds of millions of forints in foreign funding in recent years,” he said, adding that “various other supporting organizations have received billions” from sources including George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, other groups linked to the Soros network, and foreign governments. While he acknowledged that “freedom of assembly is a fundamental right and an important pillar of any democracy,” he emphasized that “it is not sacrosanct.”
MEP László defended Hungary’s child protection law and its impact on assembly regulation:
For us in Hungary, the mental and physical health and development of children is our top priority. This is what our child protection law is about, and we have also adapted our law on assembly to this.”
He argued that “Pride parades regularly feature people dressed in a sexually provocative manner, wearing clothing that is offensive or simply not appropriate for the street,” and added, “this has nothing to do with anyone’s sexual orientation—we do not want to expose our children to this.” According to László, “in their private lives, everyone is free to love whomever they want. Hungarian law guarantees the prohibition of discrimination.”
The global left-wing activist network built by Democrats using USAID-funding carries on. https://t.co/sk5plheQo8
— András LÁSZLÓ MEP (@laszloan) June 17, 2025
MEP of Hungary’s Our Homeland party (Mi Hazánk Mozgalom) Zsuzsanna Borvendég, emphasized on behalf of the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group that MEPs are not fighting for the rights of oppressed people, but supporting a lobby financed by a global network, while waging a political battle against a country defending its sovereignty.
These debates are not about European values, but about the elimination of true European diversity and the abolition of national self-determination.”
Harald Vilimsky, MEP from Austria’s FPÖ and Vice-President of Patriots for Europe, likened some members of the EP to the Titanic approaching an iceberg and supported Viktor Orbán’s approach to child protection by underlining:
It is not about freedom of love, it is about the aggressive display of sexuality that no one is interested in.”
MEPs from the EPP and S&D described the law as a “European shame,” which “kidnaps the Hungarian democracy,” while members of the Greens/EFA and the Left group clarified that they will be participating in the march in Budapest. MEPs from the the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) emphasized child protection in the context of the debate.
Via The European Parliament; Featured photo: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert