The European Parliament will debate a resolution on Wednesday that would declare the 27 member states of the European Union an “area of freedom” for LGBT people.
The Associated Press reports that the motion comes largely in response to communities in Poland, a member of the EU, adopting symbolic resolutions that declare themselves free of what conservative politicians call “LGBT ideology.” Cities say they defend their Catholic values, but LGBT activists dispute that these resolutions are discriminatory and designed to make the gay community feel unwanted.
The resolution was made by the EU cross-border group, the LGBTI intergroup, which said it had enough support to approve the resolution. The measure will also address the issues facing gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people in the EU.
Liesje Schreinemacher, a Dutch parliamentarian and vice president of the LGBTI Intergroup, told the AP that the resolution was roughly scheduled to mark the second anniversary of the first Polish community to adopt an anti-LGBT resolution.
“We wanted to send a strong signal to Poland that we consider the whole of Europe to be an area of LGBTI freedom,” Schreinemacher said. “But every European country has work to do.”
The PA reports that Poland’s local anti-LGBT resolutions have affected its international image, as well as the finances of local communities, the EU and non-member countries Norway blocking funds because of what they consider to be discriminatory policies.
In September last year, ambassadors from 50 countries, including the United States, signed an open letter questioning the Polish government’s commitment to LGBT rights because of concerns about crackdowns by President Andrzej Duda’s administration.
“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 the rights of LGBTI people and others belonging to communities facing similar challenges and to end discrimination, especially on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity ”, it was written in 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 42 out of 49 European countries in terms of laws that respect the human rights of LGBT people.