MEPs agree greater protections for LGBTI rights

The rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex persons in the European Union should be better protected from now on. MEPs have agreed today to approve a plan to combat homophobia and discrimination in the EU on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.

According to a report on the issue prepared by Austrian MEP Ulrike Lunacek, EU Member States must strive to make sure their citizens know what the rights of such people are. The proposal sparked a tempestuous debate and was sharply opposed by representatives of conservative circles at the EP.  

"I got more than 40 000 e-mails criticizing my report. I didn’t expect that," Lunacek, who is out about her sexual orientation, said during Monday’s discussion. Unidentified hackers reportedly also attacked her web pages. 

Critics of the proposal say it is an attempt to break down the traditional family and to promote special privileges for certain people only instead of promoting equality before the law. Some opponents asked whether the constitutional definition of marriage would be changed next. 

Others noted that Pope Francis supports the current definition of marriage and said that is why the topic should not even be discussed. The Austrian MEP, however, said her report was not about creating privileges.

Lunacek said her report simply ensures that lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons can live in freedom, without discrimination or fear, and be respected as EU citizens. "This is not about any special concessions or rights, as some critics have written. This is about the right to education, the right not to be considered mentally ill, and the right not to lose one’s job because of one’s orientation – other groups have such rights as well," Lunacek said.  

According to the new plan, the EU should introduce a comprehensive, multi-year policy to protect the rights of LGBTI persons, touching on areas such as education, employment, the family, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, goods and services, health care, and others. People belonging to this group should have the right to settle in any EU country without being discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation.