EU parliament lawmakers to join Budapest Pride Parade, defying ban
Members of the European Parliament plan to take part in this summer's Budapest Pride Parade in support of LGBTQ+ rights, despite a government-imposed ban.
"I am looking forward to going to Budapest," said Marc Angel, a Luxembourg MEP and co-chair of a cross-party group of over 100 fellow lawmakers advocating for Europe's LGBTQ+ community, speaking in Strasbourg late Tuesday.
Angel added that Iratxe García, leader of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) faction, had urged her party's lawmakers to attend the march, too.
Two weeks ago, Hungary's parliament hastily approved a bill banning the annual Pride event, backed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's right-wing populist government.
Participants face potential fines of up to 200,000 forints (around $540) for violating the ban, with authorities planning to use facial recognition technology to identify marchers. Both organizers and attendees could be penalized under the new law.
Should the ban remain in place, Terry Reintke, a German politician co-leader of the Greens in the European Parliament, has vowed to travel to Budapest for the march, expecting many fellow Green lawmakers to join.
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