The European Commission has announced it will sue Hungary over a law that bans the use of educational content that it deems to promote LGBT matters.
The use of the materials in schools has been outlawed by Hungarian populist prime minister Viktor Orban, who presents himself as a staunch defender of traditional Christian values.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said the ban on such materials in schools was a “disgrace”.
The ban has also been criticised by a number of human rights groups and international watchdogs as discriminatory.
In Hungary, same-sex marriage is banned and it has also been impossible for someone to legally change their gender.
On Friday, the executive arm of the EU was also expected to announce that it will sue the eastern European nation over its refusal to renew the licence of Klubradio, a broadcaster critical of the government.
The Commission will sue Budapest at the EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), over rejecting “on highly questionable grounds” Klubradio’s airwaves application and discriminating against the station – sources have told Reuters news agency.
Klubradio now only broadcasts online after it was forced off air more than a year ago. Its guests are often critical of the government’s policies.
A government spokesman had claimed at the time of the refusal to renew the license that there was no issue with media freedom in Hungary and that it was not true that the station had been forced to shut down.
The Commission and Hungary have often clashed over Orban’s policies, particularly those related to LGBT rights and the independence of its media and courts.
In April, the 27-nation bloc had launched proceedings to withhold billions of euros in aid to the eastern European nation because of concerns about the country’s use of EU money, alleged lack of proper anti-corruption procedures and alleged breaches of EU law.
