Homorechten in EU verschillen sterk (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The rights situation for lesbian, gay, bi- and transsexual (LGBT) people is very uneven throughout the EU, with improvements in Portugal and Sweden and more restrictions in Bulgaria, Estonia and Romania, a report from EU's fundamental rights agency (FRA) shows.
"They are forced to live in silence and invisibility, suffer violent attacks, and are not treated equally, for example at work, by landlords or when moving around the EU," the agency said in its report on homophobia , published on Tuesday (30 November).
While countries like Portugal and Sweden have changed legislation to allow for same-sex marriages, Bulgaria, Estonia and Romania have made it more difficult for such couples to legalise their union.
"This, in turn, has legal and practical implications for citizens wanting to move between EU countries. Negative attitudes and stereotyping appear as common roots for inaction or negative developments observed in a number of Member States in our report," the agency's director, Morten Kjaerum, said in a press conference.
The report, asked for by the European Parliament in 2009, also notes that in Lithuania the 2010 Baltic Pride was threatened with cancellation at short notice, and in Latvia the right to organise marches continues to be challenged by elected officials despite several court rulings annulling attempted bans.
On the positive side, in addition to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain, same-sex marriage is now permitted in Portugal and Sweden, and similar legislation is in the process of being adopted in Luxembourg and in Slovenia.
In respect to international protection of LGBT people who are victims of persecution in their home countries, the situation has also improved compared to 2008, when FRA last reported on this issue. Back then, only eight member states considered sexual orientation as a ground of persecution, while now, the number has risen to 22.
Countries have also moved on gender reassignment: In Latvia, a specialised medical institution has been established to this end, while in Germany, the requirement to divorce in order to alter the recorded sex on official documents has now been abolished. Similar developments are expected in the Netherlands and Ireland, while in Austria, courts have found that surgery cannot be imposed as a precondition for alteration of an individual's name.
Concerning the ban on the 'promotion' of homosexuality and same-sex relations to minors or in public, Lithuania constitutes the only recent example of such legislation.
In contrast, Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK have passed laws aimed at fostering education and dialogue in ordert to change negative attitudes towards homosexuality.
Gay rights groups welcomed the report and the fact that LGBT issues remain a priority for the Vienna-based EU agency.
"Sadly, since the original FRA report in 2008, LGBT people in some EU member states still suffer from violations of their basic fundamental rights to safety, peaceful assembly and are restricted in their ability to move freely across the EU," said Evelyne Paradis from ILGA-Europe, an umbrella organisation for LGBT rights.
The group called on EU institutions and member states to follow up on this report by adopting strategies to fight homophobia, transphobia and discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
In particular, ILGA-Europe sees this as an opportunity to move on the new EU law on anti-discrimination, which is still blocked by some member states, notably Germany.
Meanwhile, a key MEP dealing with fundamental rights told this website that there was little the EU could do to improve the situation of LGBT people, as social law is strictly national.
"That is absolutely a subsidiarity issue [competence of national governments]. It is not exactly the best example for where FRA can contribute to a change in policy," Hungarian centre-right MEP Kinga Gal told this website on Wednesday.
Ms Gal is tasked with drafting the Parliament's position on the state of fundamental rights in the EU, a report which is to be adopted in two weeks in Strasbourg. In the report, MEPs are set to call for an increased role of the FRA, as part of the new institutional landscape following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
The gay rights report was "just a coincidence" flagging up the activities of the Vienna body, "but there are plenty other areas where FRA is active - for instance on Roma rights, child protection," Ms Gal said.
"FRA is still looking after a role - it should provide facts, objective data and should also contribute to awareness raising of the rights EU citizens have," she added.