The European Parliament will on Wednesday discuss a resolution declaring the European Union’s 27 member states a ‘freedom zone’ for LGBT people.
The Associated Press reports that the motion is largely a response to communities in Poland, a member of the EU, who adopt symbolic resolutions declaring that they are free from what conservative politicians call ‘LGBT ideology’. The towns say they are defending their Catholic values, but LGBT activists deny that these resolutions are discriminatory and designed to make the gay community feel unwelcome.
The resolution was made by the interparty EU group, the LGBTI intergroup, which said it had enough support to approve the resolution. The measure will apparently also address issues facing gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people in the EU.
Liesje Schreinemacher, a Dutch legislator and vice-chair of LGBTI Intergroup, told the AP that the resolution was roughly scheduled to celebrate the second anniversary of the first Polish community to adopt an anti-LGBT resolution.
“We wanted to send a strong signal in Poland that we consider the whole of Europe as an LGBTI freedom zone,” Schreinemacher said. “But every European country has work to do.”
The AP reports that Poland’s local anti-LGBT resolutions have damaged its international image as well as the finances of local communities, with the EU and non-member Norway blocking funds due to what they see as discriminatory policies.
In September last year, ambassadors from 50 countries, including the US, signed an open letter questioning the Polish government’s commitment to LGBT rights due to concerns over Pres. Andrzej Duda’s government.
‘We pay tribute to the hard work of LGBTI and other communities in Poland and around the world, as well as the work of all those who seek to ensure human rights for LGBTIs and other persons belonging to communities facing similar challenges, and to end discrimination especially on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, ”reads the letter.
At the time, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki denied that LGBT people in Poland were restricted or threatened, saying tolerance was part of ‘Polish DNA’.
According to a ranking by ILGA-Europe, an LGBT advocacy group, Poland currently ranks 42nd out of 49 European countries in terms of laws that respect the human rights of LGBT people.