The Dutch House of Representatives wants part of the cabinet to attend a banned Pride march in Budapest. A motion from Volt gained a majority thanks to support from government parties VVD, NSC, and BBB. Coalition partner PVV voted against the motion.
Events related to the LGBTQIA+ community are banned in Hungary. Anyone who participates risks a fine of 500 euros. The Hungarian parliament passed a law two months ago that banned Pride events in the country. To enforce the law, the police are allowed to use facial recognition.
The ban was an initiative of Fidesz, the radical right-wing political party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The organization announced after the vote that the Pride march on June 28 will proceed as planned and called on people to join. “We will not be intimidated by the government that uses our minority, the LGBTQIA+ community, as a scapegoat.”
Volt submitted the motion because the party believes that the Netherlands should support the organization with the presence of cabinet members. “That shows: this is our Europe. A Pride always goes on, because that’s what our European values are,” says Volt MP Marieke Koekkoek.
Minister Ruben Brekelmans (Defense), who replaced Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp on Thursday afternoon, felt that Koekkoek was too early with her call. He prefers to wait for the permit for Pride in Budapest, which has not yet been requested.
“We will announce as a cabinet, when that is finalized, how and if we will participate. If we already speak out very strongly about it now, that will also play into Fidesz’s hands in a certain way.” The cabinet has previously condemned the Pride ban.