  LGBT in Europe

A showdown in Budapest on Saturday? Viktor Orbáns government had amended the constitution to create the legal basis for banning Pride marches, invoking the 'protection of children'. However, Budapest's mayor, Gergely Karácsony, has declared the event to be a 'freedom festival' of the city which is not subject to legal provisions on the right of assembly. Numerous guests from abroad are expected.

In a landmark judgement, the UK's Supreme Court has ruled that when it comes to gender equality, the biological sex and not the social gender is decisive. The decision affects issues such as whether trans women are categorised as women in gender quotas and to what extent they have access to women's refuges and changing rooms.

Following a vote in parliament decided by the government majority, the clear separation of the sexes into male and female has been enshrined in the Hungarian constitution. In addition, the right of children to appropriate physical, mental and moral development is to take precedence over other fundamental rights. Critics fear these provisions could be used to restrict the right of assembly and ban Pride parades.

Hungary's government aims to eliminate LGBT Pride events in the country: its parliament has passed a bill put forward by the ruling Fidesz party that could potentially make LGBT gatherings illegal, identify participants using facial recognition and subject them to fines of up to 500 euros. Commentators see red.