Mariëlle Paul travels to the Pride in Budapest: A sign against Orbán's law!

Mariëlle Paul travels to the Pride in Budapest: A sign against Orbán's law!

In the midst of persistent tensions in the European Union regarding LGBTQ rights, the Dutch government sets a strong sign: Deminationist State Secretary Mariëlle Paul will take part in the pride festivities in Budapest. Despite the restrictive laws that were recently adopted by the Hungarian parliament and prohibit pride events in the country. As RTL pushed to send an official delegation to Ungarn To support LGBTQ community.

The controversial legislation, which was adopted in Hungary in March 2025, aims to ban pride activities and massively restricts the right to assembly. This regulation is part of the anti-LGBTQI+course of the Hungarian government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and is considered a serious violation of freedom of expression and assembly, as is also summarized in a document of the European Parliament. The Hungarian law ensures that all meetings that violate the "promotion" of homosexuality and transgender identities to minors are prohibited. This is in direct opposition to the EU charta of fundamental rights that prohibits such discrimination.

a strong signal from the Netherlands

The participation of Mariëlle Paul illustrates the commitment of the Netherlands for the rights of the LGBTQ community within Europe. Paul, who is responsible for education and emancipation, emphasized how important it is to advance the LGBTQ rights in Europe. Despite the existing ban in Hungary, the 30th Pride parade will continue to be prepared on June 28th. As a sign of solidarity, the mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, will also take part in the celebrations and describes the Mayor of Budapest as an "exemplary fighter for human rights".

"I would like to underline the colorful and cheerful being of the Pride and therefore bring a happy outfit," said Paul, who will arrive in Budapest the evening before the parade. At the same time, an important debate about emancipation and the acceptance of LGBTQ people takes place in the Netherlands, a topic that deals with many in the country.

urgent EU engagement

The situation in Hungary has also received broad support from other EU countries. As DW , 20 EU countries, including Germany, asked for action and asked for its regulations to revise. This is done as part of a violation procedure initiated by the EU Commission.

The Hungarian declaration on the restriction of meetings is perceived as a broad attack on the rights of the entire LGBTQI+community. If the Hungarian government does not respond to criticism, countries like Germany have already expressed the intention of taking harder measures that may also include the withdrawal of voting rights.

at a time when discrimination and intolerance are the order of the day, the presence of European voices, such as that of Mariëlle Paul, becomes all the more important. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop, but one thing is certain: the support of the LGBTQ rights throughout Europe is more necessary than ever, and the fronts harden. ”