Spain Accuses Brussels of ‘Complicity’ in Orbán’s Ban on Budapest Pride

Díaz’s colleague, Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun, who also participated in the Budapest march, stated that Spain’s government is “very, very concerned” about the issue. He emphasized the responsibility of progressive governments to “stand in the way” of attacks on fundamental rights.

Reflecting Díaz’s sentiments, Urtasun expressed that the government in Madrid anticipates “strong actions” from the European Commission in defense of EU law.

“We expect the European Commission to be much more assertive than it has been in recent months,” Urtasun remarked.

In Budapest, the Spanish delegation was accompanied by representatives from the French and Dutch governments, lawmakers from numerous countries, and mayors from major European cities.

At a Saturday morning press conference, leaders of the European Parliament’s Socialist, Left, Green, and liberal groups also urged the Commission to contest the law.

“Words are not enough,” declared Socialists and Democrats group leader Iratxe García Pérez. “We need action. Action means that the European Commission initiates the infringement procedure against this law,” García Pérez insisted.

Civil society organizations are urging the European Commission to act against Hungary’s potential use of facial recognition technology at the Pride parade. Multiple digital and human rights groups argue that such use is “a glaring violation” of the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, as detailed in an open letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and key officials, as first reported by POLITICO.

At the end of May, in a joint statement, 20 member states, including Spain, Germany, and France, expressed their concerns over Orbán’s restrictions on fundamental rights and called on the Commission to utilize all available measures to prevent democratic regression in Hungary.