Democracy Digest: EU Launches Infringement Procedures Against Hungary, Poland

The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Hungary for its controversial Child Protection Act, media reported on Thursday. It is one of the few cases when the Commission acted almost immediately, without the usual delay.

Agence France Presse, AFP, wrote earlier that the Commission sent a warning to the Hungarian government on Wednesday. It also recalled that Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen previously promised to use "all power available" to make the Budapest modify or repeal the law.

Hungary's parliament passed the Child Protection Act in mid-June, allegedly protecting children from what lawmakers see as the most dangerous threats - paedophilia and sexual propaganda. The most criticised part of the law forbids the "portrayal and the promotion" of homosexual content for those under 18, but leaves it open how this should be achieved.

Sexual education in schools will be confined to government-licensed NGOs. Legal experts have complained that "neither promotion nor the portrayal" are legal terms and can be interpreted very differently. The government promises to publish implementation decrees in the next weeks, but until then, it has created an uncertain situation in areas like book publishing or TV content.

To be on the safe side, bookstores have decided to stick a piece of paper on books that have some homosexual content to avoid incurring penalties, saying it contains non-traditional family models. Critics say the law conflates paedophilia with homosexuality and stigmatizes the LGBT community in Hungary.

Boldizsar Nagy, editor of Fairyland is for everybody, a children's book that portrays heroes or heroines from minority groups - Roma, lesbians, the disabled, etc - announced that he...