Europe scolds us for the adopted law against LGBT+ propaganda

Council Commissioner of Europe for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty said he was "deeply concerned" from the law against "propaganda" adopted last week by the Bulgarian Parliament of LGBT+ in schools and called on President Rumen Radev not to sign it, France Press reported, quoted by BTA.

I am deeply disturbed by the law to ban so-called LGBTI "propaganda" in schools, recently adopted by the Bulgarian Parliament, stated Michael O'Flaherty on the social network "X". I urge President Radev not to sign it. The authorities must fight discrimination and hostile rhetoric against LGBTI people, including in the run-up to the elections, added O'Flaherty.

Voters in Bulgaria, a member state of the European Union plunged into serious political instability, will vote in the fall for the seventh time since 2021. A former communist country where public opinion is largely hostile to the LGBT+ community, Bulgaria does not allow same-sex marriages or civil unions, notes AFP.

Last Wednesday, the Bulgarian parliament banned "propaganda" of LGBT+ in schools, having accepted with a large majority an amendment submitted by the pro-Russian far-right party "Vazrazhdane", according to AFP.

The text makes it illegal to "promote" of "non-traditional sexual orientation" and of gender identity "other than biological", along the lines of a Hungarian law that was sharply criticized by Brussels. The proponents of the law justified the need for quick legislative action with the "impermissible normalization of non-traditional sexual orientation", carried out according to them by the current "propaganda", the agency explains.

According to Denitsa Ljubenova, lawyer of the LGBT+ association "Deistvie", however, they "used" from the "culture war" around the Olympic Games in Paris to push this reform, she adds.

The Orthodox Church has sharply criticized the opening ceremony, which gave a place to sexual minorities. Bulgaria also criticized the participation of Algerian boxer Imane Helif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-tin, saying that they represent "the other sex", AFP also noted.

Yesterday, BTA reported that over 7,000 people want the president to veto the legal changes prohibiting propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation.

A total of 7,038 signatures from citizens and 76 non-governmental organizations were submitted today to the president's administration, requesting that the head of state, Rumen Radev, veto the changes to the Law on Preschool and School Education. The initiative is of the “The Alarm Clocks“ Foundation. and Youth LGBT organization “Action“.

As recently reported by BTA, MEP Radan Kanev (“Democrats for a strong Bulgaria”/the group of the European People's Party) will take action to assess the compliance of the amendments to the Preschool and School Education Act with EU law.

My personal commitment is already at the beginning of the next session of the EP to take appropriate actions before the European Commission to assess the compliance of the legal amendments with EU law and before the European Parliament, including the EPP group, for evaluating the political effects of the adopted legislation, wrote on "Facebook" Kanev in connection with the amendments to the Law on preschool and school education.