A Polish region has become the first to withdraw its declaration against “LGBT ideology”. It and four other provinces have recently had talks over EU funds “put on hold” by the European Commission until they address concerns over their anti-LGBT resolutions.
In a vote this afternoon, the local parliament of Świętokrzyskie, a province of 1.2 million people in southeastern Poland, voted to repeal a resolution it passed in 2019 that declared “opposition to the introduction of LGBT ‘ideology’…and promotion of it in public life”.
Instead, they replaced it with one calling for “respect for the centuries-old tradition and culture of Poland” regarding “equality and fair treatment”. It pledged to “uphold the rule of law and…oppose all forms of discrimination based on sex, age, race, disability, ethnic origin, religion, worldview or orientation”.
The vote came immediately after a discussion of the European Commission’s decision to suspend talks over the disbursement of funds. For Świętokrzyskie, €16 million (74 million zloty) from the EU’s coronavirus recovery fund is at stake. It is possible that other European funds could also be at risk.
The change was supported by 25 councillors, including some from the nationally ruling coalition led by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has a majority in the local parliament. No councillors voted against and three abstained, all of whom were from the PiS-led coalition.
One councillor from United Poland (Solidarna Polska), a hard-right junior coalition partner to PiS, warned that if they gave in to the EU and withdrew the anti-LGBT resolution, the European Commission could make further demands, reports Onet.
He claimed that he had never encountered any discrimination against LGBT people and argued that it was actually the Catholic church which had been discriminated against by participants in Women’s Strike, a series of mass protests against a near-total ban on abortion.
Last week, Poland’s plenipotentiary for equal treatment, a PiS MP, wrote to the European Commission to explain that the anti-LGBT resolutions have no binding legal force. She also noted that discrimination is banned under Polish law.
Opposition politicians have, however, called for the resolutions to be withdrawn. Ahead of today’s vote in Świętokrzyskie, a councillor from the centre-right Polish People’s Party (PSL) said that they welcomed the “chance to close this chapter in a positive way”.
Over 100 authorities – ranging from large provinces to small counties and municipalities – have adopted anti-LGBT resolutions. Most declare opposition to “LGBT ideology”, while others are so-called “family charters” that reject same-sex marriage and promise to “protect children from moral corruption”.
They have passed with the support of local elected representatives of the PiS-led ruling coalition, which has at the national level pursued a vocal campaign against “LGBT ideology” since 2019. As a result, for two years running Poland has been ranked as the worst country in the EU for LGBT people.
Last month, the local parliaments in both Małopolska and Lublin – two other provinces whose EU funding talks have been put on hold – voted to retain their anti-LGBT resolutions.
Earlier this year, councillors in the town of Kraśnik voted to withdraw their anti-LGBT resolution due to the danger of losing millions in funds from Norway. Previously, another town, Nowa Dęba, had done the same.
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
