Budapest: Together in Pride, Together in Protest
This Saturday, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), ILGA-Europe, the European Public Service Unions (EPSU) and trade unionists from across Europe at Budapest Pride to stand for equality, dignity and human rights in Hungary and beyond. We stand united to defend the rights and freedoms of LGBTIQ people and workers across Europe. The ban on Budapest Pride is not just an attack on LGBTIQ people: it’s an attack on democracy, freedom of assembly, and the right to organise.
On 18 March 2025, a law was adopted in Hungary restricting the freedom of assembly, by connecting it to a previous controversial law from 2021 that prohibited the public portrayal to children of “divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality”. An amendment to the Hungarian Constitution adopted on 14 April 2025 further reinforced this. On the basis of this law, Budapest police decided to ban Budapest Pride. The mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, announced that Budapest Pride will be held as a municipal event.
The EFJ joins the ETUC and ILGA-Europe in standing in resistance in the face of attempts to divide, silence, and criminalise all those who stand for human rights. Because we know how to fight back together: Just as Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners stood with striking workers in the UK in 1984, and the miners marched proudly alongside LGBTIQ people at London Pride in 1985. That legacy of solidarity lives on today.
The European Trade Union movement proudly joined the Budapest Pride today.
We call on the European Union to steadfastly defend the right to freedom of assembly by using all tools at its disposal and clearly condemn any breaches to fundamental rights, such as the right to freedom of assembly.
We call on the European Commission to deliver an ambitious LGBTIQ strategy 2026-2030 that rises to the challenge of protecting fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people at a time of mounting threats both outside and within the EU.
This Pride Month, we send a clear message: to every LGBTIQ worker and activist across Europe: you are not alone. LGBTI rights are workers’ rights. No one should face hate or exclusion for who they are or whom they love, not at work, nor on the streets.
On 3 June, the EFJ General Meeting, in Budapest, voted a motion asking the EU Commission to call on the Orban government to repeal the discriminatory law and launch new legal action against Hungary’s government for its assaults on the rights of LGBTIQ people and freedoms of assembly and expression. The adopted resolution stated that “invisibilizing, misnaming, stigmatizing, and essentializing LGBTIQ people in the media are often underplayed forms of discrimination. Unethical media coverage can perpetuate forms of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia. It can also lead to violent repercussions. Yet, neither schools nor newsrooms train on these specific issues. This is why the EFJ GM welcomes the actions undertaken by certain EFJ aliates, notably the AJP in Belgium, to raise awareness and educate around an ethical and responsible approach to covering news about LGBTIQ communities”.
