MEPs take a stand on homophobia

The European Parliament will next week stage a debate on homophobia in reaction to moves in Poland to introduce a law banning the promotion of "homosexual culture" in schools.

The debate will focus on homophobia throughout the EU but will highlight a recent proposal by Miroslaw Orzechowski, the Polish deputy education minister, which human rights groups say would have banned the teaching of tolerance towards homo-sexuals and giving out information on HIV/AIDS.

The proposal has since been withdrawn but MEPs want to highlight the problems proposals for such legislation bring. "It’s fine that they are not going to go ahead with the law but governments have the task of creating an atmosphere of free speech and tolerance," said Dutch Green MEP Kathalijne Maria Buitenweg.

The civil liberties committee debated the matter recently and will request that the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency examine homophobia across the EU. The plenary session of the Parliament will debate the issue on Wednesday (25 April) with a vote on a resolution on Thursday.

A number of Polish MEPs have defended their government, saying the law was proposed by a member of the minority coalition partner, the socially conservative League of Polish Families, and was immediately opposed by Prime Minister Jaros?aw Kaczyn´ski. "It was not a representative statement but one by a secretary of state which was criticised publicly by the prime minister…the Polish government has never sent to parliament any draft legislation which is contradictory to anti-discrimination laws and I am sure it will never happen," said Konrad Szyma´nski, a Polish MEP for the ruling coalition partner, the Justice and Law party.

Kaczyn´ski, who was in Brussels yesterday for meetings with the commissioners and Hans-Gert Pöttering, the president of the European Parliament, rejected the accusation that his government was intolerant towards homosexuals. "There is going to be no law discriminating against teachers who are homosexuals…in Poland there is no tradition of persecuting homosexuals," he said.

The European Parliament will next week stage a debate on homophobia in reaction to moves in Poland to introduce a law banning the promotion of "homosexual culture" in schools.