Slovakia’s anti-LGBTQI+ constitutional amendment is on the EU’s agenda

The Slovak parliament has approved a constitutional amendment that severely restricts the rights of LGBTQI+ people in the country. The amendment, adopted on September 26, recognizes only “two genders” – male and female – and also bans surrogacy and same-sex marriage.

Ján Mazák, the former president of the Slovak Constitutional Court and former prosecutor general of the European Court of Justice, has strongly criticized the decision. According to him, “if Slovakia had come to the negotiations for membership of the European Union with such a document, they would have immediately turned it back out the door.”

Mazák told Euractiv that the European Commission already has the legal grounds to take Slovakia to court for infringement. Under Article 258 of the Treaty on European Union, Brussels can initiate formal legal proceedings against member states that violate EU rules and force them to change their decisions.

The European Commission said in an official statement that it “deeply regrets” that the Slovak parliament has ignored concerns about the principle of the primacy of European law. EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath said on the issue that “the primacy of European law is not negotiable and is not open to negotiation.” Marek Káčer, head of the Department of Constitutional Law at the University of Trnava, believes that the European Commission may take legal action for infringement. According to him, if the adopted changes hinder the management of EU-funded programs, such as education and research projects, a temporary suspension of EU funds could also be on the agenda.

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