6 April was the deadline for the EU member states to send their written support for the European Commission infringement procedures against Hungary at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), targeting the 2021 law discriminating against LGBTI people and the disclaimer imposed on a children’s book regarding LGBTI content. Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Finland, France, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Slovenia joined to support the procedure.

On 12 April, the European Commission published their progress report on the first-ever LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025. In parallel to the EC progress report, ILGA-Europe published our evaluation of its implementation, highlighting five key aspects and setting out recommendations to ensure strong implementation of the full strategy by 2024. Half-way through, the evaluation of LGBTI organisations is positive, but also pointing clearly to where more is needed to ensure the implementation of the strategy in all areas of EU competence and to fully live up to the commitments the EC proudly adopted with the strategy.

On 4 April, the European Court of Human Rights published its decisions on two cases of trans parents from Germany. In both cases, the applicants challenged the fact that the birth certificate of their child does not show their recognised gender identity. The Court found that it is within the State’s discretion to list a trans parent on their child’s birth certificate using a “deadname” and sex assigned at birth.

Tackling hate crimes against LGBTI people requires the cooperation of police authorities, but for different reasons this doesn’t always happen. The European Commission has developed a guide for national authorities on how to work collaboratively with civil society organisations in combating hate crime. In a new blog post, we share some ways in which LGBTI organisations can contribute to combating attacks against the LGBTI community, which are still on the rise across Europe.

On 3 April, alongside AGE Platform Europe, ILGA-Europe launched the third report of our Intersections series, taking a deep dive into the FRA 2019 LGBTI II Survey. The briefing focuses on experiences of older LGBTI people when it comes to discrimination, violence, housing, parenting and making ends meet. The report takes a specific look at older LGBTI people with intersecting identities.

On 21 March, the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic approved the first reading of a bill to make legal gender recognition impossible – a de facto ban. The change in the law would require people seeking to access LGR to undergo a genetic test to “prove that the person’s sex has been incorrectly determined in the past”. ILGA-Europe calls on Slovakian policymakers to reject this bill and ensure alignment with international human rights standards.

Despite a rise in anti-LGBTI hate speech and violence across Europe, in our recent Annual Review, we have conversely seen a rise in acceptance of LGBTI people in many countries, including places where politicians and public representatives are known for their anti-LGBTI views. We’ve compared the evolution of public opinion between 2020 to 2023 through our Annual Reviews.

CIVICUS updated and expanded the edition of their Donor Finder directory, first published in 2021. It contains a list of progressive donors offering funding and non-financial resources to civil society, including small and even informal groups and individual activists. Listed donors offer resources mostly for general activities and projects that do not require immediate action. It is available in English, French and Spanish.
Download your copy of the directory.