Bulgaria's president Rumen Radew, despite force from EU and UN authorities, has not vetoed the anti-LGBTI Act prohibiting the implementation of any educational programs on "non-conventional sexual orientation" in schools.
The bill initiated by the Rebirth organization (Europe of Sovereign Nations) was adopted at an express pace by Parliament after 2 readings in 1 day last week. On 16 August, it was published in the diary of Laws.
Any educational programme relating in any way to "non-conventional sexual orientation" will be labelled as "propaganda". In turn, ‘actions relating to propaganda, promotion or incitement in any way, straight or indirectly, to ideas and views related to unconventional sexual orientation and/or the definition of non-biological sex identity shall be prohibited’.
‘Unconventional sexual orientation’ is defined as ‘other than commonly accepted and established in the Bulgarian legal tradition of the concept of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between the other sex’.
Even before the President's decision, a petition was organised calling for a bill to be vetoed, signed by more than 6,000 people. The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner Michael P’Flaterty intervened, demanding that the bill be vetoed and addressed the “talk of hatred” and alleged “discrimination” of LGBTI subculture representatives.
A akin appeal was made by Béatrice Fresko-Rolfo, associate of the Equality Committee in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), as well as by the UN advanced Commissioner for Human Rights and EU Commissioner for Equality, Helena Daly, who launched an investigation into whether the anti-LGBTI law violates EU regulations, citing the "rights" enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
On the margins, against which the dangers arising from the provisions of the Charter were repeatedly warned by the Fr Piotr Skarga Christian Culture Association, organising many conferences on this subject, publishing materials and distributing them among Poles.
The Bulgarian authorities reacted quickly, indicating in the explanatory memorandum to the bill an "unacceptable normalisation of unconventional sexual orientation" through propaganda directed at Bulgarian students.
Denitsa Lubenov, a typical of LGBTQ+ Deystvie (‘Action’) association, says French ‘Le Monde’ believes that ‘the Members have utilized the current context of the cultural war around the Olympic Games to push through this reform’. An additional pretext for action was the upcoming elections in the autumn.
The Act is to match the Hungarian law adopted in the summertime of 2021 under the Peedophilia eradication plan. It prohibits the discussion of homosexuality in the presence of minors under the threat of a fine. For this reason, the EU authorities have initiated respective disciplinary procedures against Budapest for alleged infringement of the rule of the Single marketplace and of the fundamental rights of the European Union.
The case even went to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is due to give its ruling in June 2025. 15 associate States have joined the EU, including France and Germany, as well as the European Parliament.
The issue of changing the law in Bulgaria is crucial due to the fact that it marks the other trend of the EU institutions. Bulgaria – despite strong opposition from the public – has previously adopted a number of regulations beneficial to representatives of the subculture of sexual minorities.
Source: euractiv.com, lemonde.fr
AS
