Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga has written a letter to EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton defending Hungary’s Child Protection Act, which has been criticised by liberal media as an anti-LGBTQ law.
“Following the adoption of the Child Protection Act, the European Commission sent an official letter to the Hungarian government on 15 July 2021, initiating infringement proceedings against Hungary. They are trying to punish us just because we don’t let the LGBTQ lobby into Hungarian schools and kindergartens,” Varga wrote in a Facebook post.
In a reply that I sent to EU Commissioner Thierry Breton in due time on Wednesday, I set out very clearly the Hungarian Government’s position on the infringement procedure initiated under the Child Protection Act, while at the same time pointing out the material and technical errors in the Commission’s request.”
Varga said Hungary will protect its culture and national identity, as well as the family values rooted in it: as a free and independent country, this right is guaranteed by both EU and international law. Under the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, neither the Union nor any other body has the right to prescribe to Hungarian parents how to educate their children in Hungary.
“We will continue to ensure that only parents can decide how to raise their child. No one can force them to provide their child with sexual information without their consent or to confront them with harmful content that is inappropriate for their age. Educational lectures should only be given by qualified personnel in the presence of a teacher,” Varga wrote.
“We categorically reject the assumption that the purpose of the law is exclusion or discrimination; it is only about the education of Hungarian children and the protection of minors. The law does not interfere in any way with the lives of adults, it does not violate the rights of sexual minorities in any way.”
Varga also stressed that in Hungary the rights of religious, ethnic, sexual and other minorities are guaranteed. “Hungary’s Basic Law strictly prohibits any exclusion and discrimination against minorities, and our laws severely punish them,” she wrote.
By UME
