- The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that the decision to withhold EU subsidies for cities that declared themselves LGBT-free zones remained in force
- Von der Leyen: “our treaties give everyone in Europe the freedom to be who he is, live where he wants, love whoever he wants, and reach as high as he wants”
- Commission spokesman: “All EU countries are obliged to respect fundamental rights and the principles of democracy when implementing EU policies”
- “This also applies to the cohesion and structural funds, which account for a large part of the EU budgetary resources received by Poland, Hungary and other countries,” added the spokesman
Original article on POLITICO.eu website
The European Commission is staunchly defending its recent decision to rejection of grant applications for six Polish cities that adopted resolutions on “LGBT-free” zones or “charter of family rights”, claiming that they do not meet the basic requirement – that the projects they propose will be available to all EU citizens without any discrimination.
Asked if The Commission stands by its decision in the face of criticism from PolandCommission deputy chief spokesman Dana Spinant only read a brief statement from her head, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
“Our treaties give everyone in Europe the freedom to be who they are, live where they want, love who they want, and go as high as they want,” wrote von der Leyen. “I will continue to push for a Union of equality.”
The resolutions adopted by the municipalities clearly violate the fundamental principles of the EU, and in this context, the Commission’s decision to block funds is of particular interest given the debate that erupted after the EU’s budget summit. There is still a debate about what the EU Heads of State and Government actually meantby agreeing last week rule of law mechanism as part of the € 1.8 trillion budget deal and the coronavirus package.
Proponents of stricter enforcement of the rule of law standards insist that the leaders’ agreement paves the way for the EU Council to take action that was previously blocked by unanimity requirements under the EU treaties.
In addition, some aspects of the budget agreement still need to be approved and ratified by the European Parliament and national parliaments, so there could be a dramatic fight over the rule of law in the coming months.
Stop discrimination
The Commission’s decision to reject the grant applications submitted by the six municipalities under the “town twinning program” came after EU officials asked for clarification on 6 July on the possibility that anti-gay resolutions could hamper some citizens’ access to funding.
– The call for proposals under this program stated that it should be available to all European citizens without any form of discrimination on the basis of sex, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation, said another spokesman, Stefan de Keersmaecker. – Thus, following explanations from seven of the eight applicants, six applications were rejected as the replies provided by the legal representatives of the project did not provide the evaluation committee with sufficient assurance.
Spinant also noted that Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli is working on a broader rights plan to be presented later this year.
Ombudsmen were pressed over the possibility for the Commission to take a firmer stance and move to “compliance” checks. compliance), i.e. checking compliance with the rule of law before the disbursement of funds, and not only during the evaluation of program implementation.
In response, they simply reiterated that all EU countries are obliged to respect fundamental rights and democratic principles when implementing EU policies – and that this also applies to the Cohesion and Structural Funds, which represent a large proportion of the EU budgetary resources received by Poland, Hungary and other countries .
– When it comes to respecting these rights, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and its impact on EU funding, we can only reiterate what we have said in the past, that public authorities that receive or manage EU funds, including through policy funds Cohesion, Structural and Investment Funds must respect these laws, said de Keersmaecker.
Editing: Michał Broniatowski
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