Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 March 2023
147. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the projected costs arising from his decision to join the State in EU Commission enforcement proceedings against Hungary; if he will list all previous cases in which the State has joined EU Commission litigation as a plaintiff against another member state; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14046/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 15 June 2021, the Hungarian Parliament passed a law imposing multiple prohibitions on the promotion or portrayal to persons under the age of 18 of homosexuality, sex reassignment, and gender identities that do not correspond to the sex assigned at birth.
Following the law’s introduction, Ireland was one of 18 EU Member States to sign a joint declaration criticising the measure and calling upon the European Commission to use all the tools at its disposal, including recourse to the Court of Justice of the European Union, to ensure compliance with European laws.
On 15 July 2022, the European Commission announced it was referring Hungary to the Court. The case for doing so was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 13 February 2023. In it, the European Commission recorded that, alongside breaches of EU Directives on e-commerce, services and audio-visual media services, the Hungarian law infringed on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and on Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union, concerning the EU’s fundamental values.
Intervention in support of the European Commission in an infringement action against another Member State is a significant step. On review, my Department is aware of only a single occasion on which Ireland has done so in the past – in 2015, in a case centring on differing interpretations of EU law in relation to the determination and application of the appropriate social security system to be applied in the case of posted workers.
However, as I and others underlined in 2021, this law represents a flagrant form of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Fundamentally, it is at odds with the core values of the EU and our national interests in protecting the rights of LGBTI+ persons.
On that basis, and following extensive consideration across relevant Departments, the Government has decided to intervene before the Court in support of the European Commission. The cost of the proceeding to the state will be the cost of engaging Counsel, which will be borne by the Chief State’s Solicitor’s Office.
We are not alone in taking this step. Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Portugal have already announced their intent to intervene, while others may do so in advance of the deadline for notification next week, an indication of how serious and widely held concerns over this law are.
