The Public Prosecutor’s Office of the 5th and 13th Districts of Budapest dropped the charges against the city’s mayor, Gergely Karácsony, for organizing the Budapest Pride March 2025.
In its statement on Thursday, the Hungarian prosecutor’s office claimed that it had brought the charges lawfully in accordance with the law in force at the time. However, a European court ruled that the anti-LGBTQ+ law passed under the guise of child protection is incompatible with the EU’s core values and treaties. As prosecutors considered their duty to ensure compliance with EU law, they decided to drop the charges as the ruling no longer makes organizing pride parades a crime.
The Pécs District Public Prosecutor’s Office also cites the same reason dropped the indictment against Géza Buzás-Hábel, the organizer of 2025 Pecs Pride. Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International And Human Rights Watchhave condemned the prosecution against the couple and called for their charges to be withdrawn.
Hungary passed several laws in 2021 to ban the distribution of content related to homosexuality and gender identity other than the sex assigned at birth to minors. The laws apply to school materials, advertising, television content and other media. In April the Court of Justice of the European Union governed that these provisions contradict Article 2 Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Article 1 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The articles codify the values of respect for human dignity, equality, human rights and non-discrimination.
The primacy of EU law requires national authorities and courts not to enforce national law that is incompatible with EU law, even if the national legislature has not repealed it. While the withdrawal of charges reflects the authorities’ willingness to comply with the court’s ruling, it does not automatically invalidate the laws. Human Rights Watch has called for the repeal of the anti-LGBTQ law.
The judgment marks the first time that the Court has found an independent violation of Article 2 TEU. European legal scholar Benedikt Riedl argued that the Court unjustifiably expanded its power to decide whether a national government has breached Article 2 on the basis of the EU standard of values set by the Court. Determination of violations of Article 2 is usually carried out through a political process in the European Council Article 7. A positive finding of violation may lead to the suspension of certain rights as an EU member state.
UN rights chief Volker Türk quoted Hungary’s arrest and targeting of LGBTQ+ people under the government of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Speaking on May 21 about the worsening trend of discrimination, Orbán called for stronger protections for LGBTQ+ people. Whether and how the new Prime Minister Péter Magyar will change LGBTQ+ rights in Hungary remains to be noted.
