The resolution designating the European Union as the LGBTIQ Freedom Zone was prepared by deputies of the European Parliament’s five factions: the European People’s Party, Socialists, Renew Europe, Greens, and the Left. The majority in the European Parliament approved it on Thursday, March 11, 2021.
It should be noted that the declaration of the European Union as the LGBTIQ Freedom Zone is only a symbolic gesture. The resolution is not a legally binding document; it does not force the Member States to make any law changes.
Even though the declaration saw the discrimination against LGBTIQ people as “an EU-wide problem,” it admonished Poland as the principal offender, which some, not only in Poland, see as another attack by the heavily left-leaning EU on a more conservative country resisting their attempts to impose on it an ideologically leftist agenda.
The resolution accuses Poland’s authorities of, among other things, legitimizing intolerance towards the LGBTIQ community through the use of hate speech. The document also states that EU funds should be spent respecting the “principle of non-discrimination and fundamental rights set out in the treaty, including those relating to sexual orientation.”
Zbigniew Ziobro, Poland’s Minister of Justice, reacted to the EU Parliament’s debate on the issue and the ensued declaration at a press conference the following day. Minister Ziobro pointed out that the guarantees that are included in the treaties are less and less heeded by the Brussels elites, who at all costs want to impose an ideological left-wing, extremely liberal, LGBT agenda on Poland. Furthermore, they are pushing for solutions that are de facto discriminatory for the vast majority of Poles, and not taking their beliefs into account. “As the Minister of Justice, I supported the request of my colleagues from Solidarity Poland Party to the Polish Sejm to respond to this resolution with its own resolution, which would draw attention to our sensitivity and demand respect for the views of Poles by European institutions,” he added.
The Minister of Justice also quoted part of the Polish Sejm resolution. “Guided by the constitutional imperative to respect human dignity, rights and freedoms, which are the foundations of European heritage, which arose based on Christianity and doctrines and ideological currents that adopted rationalism and humanism as the main values, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland expresses its opposition to any activities aimed at disseminating a false vision of human identity, marriage, and family, “ quoted Minister Ziobro.”
“According to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, marriage as a union of a woman and a man, family, motherhood a parenthood are under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland. The family is the foundation of society, the Nation, and State; it is an elementary community of values indispensable in children’s education and upbringing. This view is shared by most of Polish society, which is reflected precisely in the aforementioned constitution. Therefore, the Sejm cannot be indifferent to the numerous cases of discrimination in recent years due to this set of beliefs and values, especially by the institutions of the European Union, which are trying to exert unauthorized, discriminatory pressure on Polish institutions and Polish society in this way,” continued the Minister of Justice in a read-out statement.
As Minister Ziobro also noted, “We cannot accept the fact that political actions, which are not legal as of now, are being undertaken (…) to improperly influence the decisions of Poles, because it is Poles who, through democratic elections, a democratically adopted constitution, have the exclusive right to decide how their culture and traditional legal institutions regarding marriage and the adoption of children are shaped .”
