Hungary shot back against the “unprecedented attacks” from the European Commission over the issue of LGBT ideology being taught in schools, pronouncing that deciding how children are educated is the “exclusive right of Hungarian parents”.
In a statement released on social media on Tuesday, Hungary’s Justice Minister Judit Varga vowed to stand up against the “interference” from Brussels over the teaching of LGBT issues in schools.
“Hungary has been attacked on an unprecedented scale only because the protection of children and families is our priority, and in view of this, we are unwilling to let [the] LGBTQ lobby into our schools and kindergartens,” Ms Varga wrote.
“How Hungarian children are raised is the exclusive right of Hungarian parents. Brussels cannot interfere in that. According to all fundamental documents of the EU that Hungary has ever adopted, signed [and] ratified, raising children remains a national competence,” she said in a separate statement over the weekend.
Indeed, section three of Article 14 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights states: “The freedom to found educational establishments with due respect for democratic principles and the right of parents to ensure the education and teaching of their children in conformity with their religious, philosophical, and pedagogical convictions shall be respected, in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of such freedom and right.”
Despite this, Eurocrats in Brussels have come out forcefully against new laws against promoting LGBT content in the classroom in Hungary.
The country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, implied last month that delays from the European Commission to authorise coronavirus relief money to the Central European nation was linked to Budapest’s refusal to conform to the left-wing orthodoxy held by many in the upper echelons of the EU establishment.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has argued that placing limits on the promotion of transgenderism, homosexuality, and other subjects related to sex and sexuality in schools empowers parents to teach their children how they want, rather than having leftist ideology promoted in classrooms.
The Hungarian leader said that, in Western Europe, “LGBTQ activists visit kindergartens and schools and conduct sexual education classes” and that the “bureaucrats in Brussels” want the same imposed on Hungary.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called the legislation “a shame”, alleging: “This bill clearly discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and it goes against all the fundamental values of the European Union.”
Amid the dispute, Orbán announced that he would put the issue to the Hungarian people, offering a referendum on whether LGBT and gender identity issues should be taught to children.
The repeated attempts to impede the national sovereignty of individual EU member-states by the European Commission has resulted in the leaders of 16 right-wing parties, including Mr Orbán, signing a joint declaration against the growth of an “EU superstate” and to stress the importance of local control.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
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