How the European Union Is Working Toward Gay Rights
Born in the ashes of World War II, the European Union is still in its relative infancy. But in a relatively short period of time the EU has become one of the world’s greatest political and economic success stories.
The EU unites countries that have been at each other’s throats for thousands of years. The adoption of the Euro as a common monetary unit is a singular success (Britain being the notable holdout). When it comes to human rights--and gay rights in particular, however--its record on establishing and implementing its charter standards has been mixed at best.
The most recent report from its own Fundamental Rights Agency concluded that 18 of its 27 member states still have much work to do regarding their treatment of LGBTs. Some member states are much further behind than that, with outright governmental homophobia--in stark contrast to the EU’s own stated goals.
This disparity between those who advocate for equality and those who resist is creating some real friction within the hall of the organization’s bureaucracy in Brussels and its parliament in Strasbourg, France. On paper, the EU provides motivation for prospective members to motivate themselves toward greater acceptance of LGBT rights within their countries by dangling the carrot of admittance into the world’s most exclusive club.
’A tale of two cities’
For (International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission) Executive Director Paula Ettelbrick, it’s the best and worst of times. "It’s a tale of two cities," she says. "The Council of Europe and the EU have taken leadership in setting forth base line issues of human rights to which all countries must comply."
What makes it two "cities," Ettelbrick ruefully adds, is that some member countries routinely ignore these standards. Poland, in particular, is in the EU, but its president and its policies are extremely homophobic.
If the implementation of EU policy lacks consistency, it is at least a formally articulated goal.
"In the treaty of Amsterdam, the EU countries pledged not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation," says Human Rights Watch LGBT Advocacy Director Boris O. Dittrich. "Every EU country is obliged to implement an anti-discrimination law."
Dittrich is also a Member of Parliament in the Netherlands. As such, he sponsored 1998’s landmark same sex marriage bill in that nation. He notes that all EU policies and directives represent minimum standards that are often exceeded by its more politically liberal and socially enlightened members. This is the case for gay rights, where the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Britain and now Spain have gone beyond the EU’s directives.
Still, Dittrich adds, "Several states are known to be homophobic, like Poland and Malta." Some countries, such as Italy, face pressure from the influential Catholic Church each time a progressive issue comes up for a parliamentary vote there.
Internal Struggles on Gay Rights
Other members seem preoccupied by internal struggles to define their own laws and policies.
Hungary recently came under harsh criticism from The European Parliament’s Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights following widspread violence at the Budapest Pride march. Police initially cancelled the march, then rescheduled it following negative coverage in the international press. Even so, there were several incidents, in which the police reportedly did little to discourage right-wing skinheads and other anti-gay protesters.
In Greece, Tassos Alfieris, the mayor of the tiny island of Tilos, caused a national uproar when he declared that he would preside over two same-sex marriage ceremonies. A Supreme Court prosecutor recently declared Tilos’ mayor’s plan "automatically nullified and considered illegal."
Grecian gay rights groups express frustration over the exclusion of gays from proposed civil partnership benefits in a nation still very much under the influence of the conservative Greek Orthodox Church. But the EU does not encourage direct involvement. Instead, it favors pressuring member states to comply with established EU policies.
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Next: Exerting Quiet Pressure on Several Fronts
