'I told Orbán his LGBT law was homophobic,' says Luxembourg's Foreign Minister

Published connected 22/04/2026 - 12:14 GMT+2•Updated 12:18

Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel compared the favoritism of minorities successful Hungary nether the Orbán authorities to policies of fascist regimes.

Bettel, who was besides Luxembourg’s premier curate from 2013 until 2023, recalled however helium enactment his objections straight to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during a gathering of EU leaders successful Brussels.

“It's not the information that I'm cheery that I conscionable combat for cheery rights, but it's the information that I combat for minorities and it's ever easier to combat against the smallest radical successful immoderate countries,” helium told Euronews analogous Shona Murray.

“As I told Viktor Orbán astatine that moment, it was not my prime [to beryllium gay] and the astir hard portion of that was to judge myself and past to get blamed due to the fact that I'm antithetic from him, and I said: 'Being cheery is not a choice, but being homophobic is simply a choice',” Bettel said.

Bettel past likened the laws to those targeting minorities specified arsenic Jewish radical oregon Roma crossed Europe successful the past.

“To bash authorities by blaming idiosyncratic reminds maine earnestly of however it starts with Jewish radical and past with gypsies and etc.,” helium said.

He was speaking to Euronews astatine a gathering of overseas ministers successful Luxembourg erstwhile the European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary's anti-LGBTQ laws interruption EU rules and infringe connected equality and number rights.

Orbán's authorities banned entree to accusation oregon contented connected tv oregon elsewhere relating to cheery oregon transgender issues, arguing it violated kid extortion laws. It was widely-criticised by astir EU countries, arsenic good arsenic by quality rights groups erstwhile it was introduced successful Hungary successful 2021.

In an unprecedented move, the European Commission and 15 EU countries launched ineligible enactment against Budapest arguing that the authorities infringed connected respective rights established by the European Treaties. They besides said it was "dangerously similar" to a instrumentality adopted by the Russian parliament successful June 2013.

Europe’s highest tribunal recovered this week that the instrumentality “stigmatises and marginalises" LGBTQ+ persons, and it breaches Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union which guarantees values of respect for "human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality".

Bettel said Orbán did not respond erstwhile helium enactment his grievances to him successful beforehand of the gathering of 25 different EU heads of authorities and government, arsenic good arsenic President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and past President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

“It was a precise wide reply from Viktor, due to the fact that usually helium ever answers and helium did not answer,” Bettel explained.

“And successful the gathering country determination was a soundlessness erstwhile I took the floor, arsenic the contented wasn't connected the agenda,” said Bettel.

Bettel said helium told Orbán his instrumentality wouldn’t halt radical from being cheery due to the fact that they were calved gay, and that banning entree to contented showing cheery radical from tv would not work.

“I told Viktor astatine that infinitesimal that I didn't go cheery due to the fact that I ticker TV.”