EU Blocks Funding For Towns Declaring Themselves “LGBT-Free Zones”
The European Union has denied funding to six Polish towns which have declared themselves to be “LGBT-Free Zones”, affirming that the union stands for equality for all people.
“EU values and fundamental rights must be respected by Member States and state authorities,” European Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, wrote on Twitter. “This is why six town-twinning applications involving Polish authorities that adopted 'LGBTI free zones' or 'family rights' resolutions were rejected,” she added.
The towns had applied to join the European Union's twinning program, which links towns together “to guarantee peaceful relations” and “reinforce mutual understanding and friendship” between European citizens.
Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said: “Six applications have been rejected because the answer given by the legal representative of the project did not provide the evaluation committee with sufficient assurance that the project would be in line with those objectives and general features.”
Jahnz told ‘CNN’ he was “not at liberty” to identify the rejected applications, adding: “We do not disclose the applicants who were rejected to get EU funds, this is a really a principle of equality of treatment that is at the heart of our selection processes.”
In a statement on Twitter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Our treaties in Europe ensure that every person in Europe is free to be who they are, live where they like, love who they want and aim as high as they want. I will continue to push for a #UnionOfEquality.”
Read related myGwork articles here:
Polish Minister Wants Country To Be LGBT-Free Zone
Polish Courts Annul LGBT+ ‘Free Zones’, Finds Them Unconstitutional
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda Proposes Constitutional Ban On Same-Sex Adoption
Polish President Andrzej Duda Says LGBT+ ‘Ideology” Worse Than Communism
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