A general view of the Hungarian parliament as it votes on a bill that would ban the Pride march by LGBTQ+ communities and impose fines on organizers and people attending the event in Budapest, Hungary, March 18, 2025. REUTERS/Marton Monus
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's parliament passed a law on Tuesday to ban the Pride march by LGBTQ+ communities and backed a resolution opposing joint EU borrowing for defence spending as Prime Minister Viktor Orban gears up for a summit in Brussels later this week.
Orban's Fidesz party, which holds a commanding parliamentary majority, submitted a bill on Monday that would ban the annual Pride march on the grounds that it could be considered harmful to children, and approved it in an expedited process on Tuesday.
Orban, who faces an unprecedented challenge from a new surging opposition party ahead of 2026 elections, has criticised the LGBTQ+ community and pledged to crack down on foreign funding of independent media and NGOs in Hungary in recent weeks.
The legislation was criticised by Budapest's liberal mayor while lawmakers from the small opposition party Momentum lit up smoke flares and scattered in the assembly hall manipulated photos depicting Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin kissing hall as the voting progressed.
Organizers said they planned to hold this year's Pride march despite the ban.
Parliament also passed a resolution opposing joint European borrowing for defence, after Orban said last week that Hungary should take part in common European defence policy and contribute funds to it, but should not agree to joint borrowing.
The European Commission proposed earlier this month to borrow up to 150 billion euros ($163.67 billion) to lend to EU governments under a rearmament plan. For approval, the proposal requires a qualified majority, or the backing of at least 15 of the EU's 27 countries, representing at least 65% of the bloc's population. Hungary alone cannot block the plan.
($1 = 0.9165 euros)
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
