Human rights organizations are calling on the European Union to step up its efforts to oppose the rising tide of anti-LGBTQ+ hate in Poland.
On Tuesday, representatives with the LGBTQ+ group All Out delivered a petition signed by 340,000 people calling attention to the recent proliferation of what is widely referred to as “LGBT-free zones.” Since 2019, more than 100 cities and counties in the eastern European nation have passed largely symbolic resolutions banning the spread of so-called “LGBTQ+ ideology.”
A statement from Matt Beard, executive director of All Out, called on E.U. Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli “to do everything within her power to ensure that the E.U. Commission and E.U. Council take all possible steps to challenge the LGBT-Free Zones in Poland.”
“This is about what our European Union stands for and the time to act is now,” he said.
The action was accompanied by a series of messages projected onto the side of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, in which campaigners quoted a recent speech by its president, Ursula von der Leyen, in support of Poland’s LGBTQ+ community. In a September 16 address delivered to European Parliament, von der Leyen said that “LGBT-free zones… have no place in our union.”
Going on to paraphrase the European Commission president’s widely covered comments, All Out added that LGBTQ+ people are “not an ideology.” “We are citizens of Poland,” the organization concluded.
The latter declaration was accompanied by an image of the LGBTQ+ Pride flag.
While von der Leyen’s statements were seen as a step in the right direction, All Out Director of Programs Mathias Wasik said the campaign’s goal is to encourage the European Commission to take “urgent and decisive action.” For instance, the E.U. governing body could strip certain membership privileges from Poland under Article 7.1 of the Treaty on European Union, which signifies a breach in the E.U.’s founding principles, or invoke Article 7.3, expelling the country from the E.U. altogether.
The move would be unprecedented: The E.U. has never before undertaken disciplinary proceedings to eject a member nation. Wasik did not advocate for the nuclear option specifically but said that European leaders must ensure that the “fundamental rights” of LGBTQ+ people are “protected” at all costs.
“The E.U. must use its leverage and urge the Polish government to respect the principles of tolerance and nondiscrimination Poland committed to when it joined the European Union,” he told them. in an email.
