Debate: Growing hate crimes against LGBTIQ people across Europe in light of the recent homophobic murder in Slovakia
Date: TUESDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2022
Speaker: Ivan Bartoš
Language: EN

Let me be very clear from the start. There is no place for homophobia anywhere in Europe. Sexual orientation and gender identity are aspects of who we are. No one should feel a need to conceal their true selves in order to avoid discrimination, hate or even violence. All citizens of a Union are equal and should live freely, safely and without discrimination, regardless of their sex, race, colour, religion or sexual orientation.  These are principles and values solemnly enshrined in the EU Treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and EU legislation. They are not up for discussion. Our common European commitment to decency, tolerance and equal treatment is the very foundation of the idea of a just society. This is a source of pride of Europeans and for good reason.  It is also necessary not to overlook the anti-Semitic motivess that are expressed in his manifesto. There is no place for anti-Semitism anywhere in Europe, and the Czech Presidency is determined to keep working on fighting this form of hatred.  If we look over the past years, progress is undoubtedly made on LGBTIQ rights. However, the most recent survey by the Fundamental Rights Agency has shown that as many as 43% LGBTIQ persons feel discriminated against. One in ten LGBTIQ respondents were physically or sexual attacked and trans and intersex respondents experience attacked at higher rate. What makes matters even worse is the fact that most of these injustices go unreported. Overall, across the EU, only 11% of discrimination suffered is reported and only a small percentage of hate-motivated incidents are reported.  At the same time, we have seen in recent years a sharp rise in hate speech and hate crime in Europe. Those developments are linked to a number of factors, including disinformation as well as the growing use of internet, including social media. EU action to address the dissemination of hatred content, including all forms of violent extremism and terrorism online, is therefore particularly relevant.  In this regard, much has been done to cooperate with internet companies, but this cooperation needs to be stepped up. In particular, more information about how they handle borderline content would be useful. The Council has discussed violent extremism and terrorism in light of the increasing polarisation in our societies. The conclusion is clear: we need further efforts to prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism and we as politicians, should lead by example.  So the discourse that somehow covers those things that I mentioned should not be a part of the political discourse in a democratic society the way it was described. So how to address the situation that is currently raising not only on the internet, we need to cooperate on the EU and internationally to counter those extremist narratives, always in full respect for the principles of freedom of speech and expression. As requested by European Parliament in some of its resolutions, the Commission proposed the extension of the list of EU crimes to cover hate speech and hate crime. The Presidency will continue to seek the necessary consensus to reach an agreement.