madam president in this house we have discussed media freedom being under pressure in italy slovakia and hungary
we have discussed the violation of lgbt rights in lithuania hungary and poland
we have discussed the expulsion of and discrimination against roma people in france and italy and there have been many other examples of debates about fundamental rights being under pressure in one member state or another
every single time i have heard the epp say that this should not be party politics and that we should not single out member states
this is not about member states this is about fundamental rights
fundamental rights is not a matter of subsidiarity
fundamental rights is about the very foundations of the european union
in order to demonstrate this i remind you that we ask candidate countries to adapt not only their laws but also their constitutions in order to be admitted as members of the european union
clearly colleagues there are objective concerns that have been expressed not only by political parties but also by the venice commission and at the very least there are ambiguities
instead of having this very acrimonious debate we should try and clarify the issues
one last practical suggestion to the hungarian government
if you want to demonstrate your very strong commitment to the protection and promotion of lgbt rights i would invite you to walk with budapest gay pride on eighteen june
