The European Union has announced its first &#8220;LGBTIQ Equality Strategy&#8221; to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, intersex, and queer people from discrimination as the leaders of some member states have recently been accused of pushing homophobic agendas.
Officials from the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, unveiled the proposals on Thursday in Brussels, Belgium.  They include adding “hate speech” to a list of “EU crimes” that <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-equality-lgbt/eu-launches-lgbt-protection-strategy-as-homophobia-rises-in-east-idINKBN27S257">reportedly</a> also contains serious offenses like drug trafficking and terrorism, and ensuring recognition of same-sex parenthood throughout the 27 countries in the bloc.
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Everyone should feel free to be who they are – without fear or persecution. This is what Europe is about and this is what we stand for.
We present our first-ever strategy on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EU4LGBTIQ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EU4LGBTIQ</a> equality. 
🟥🟧🟨🟩▶🟪 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UnionOfEquality?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UnionOfEquality</a>
&mdash; European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) <a href="https://twitter.com/EU_Commission/status/1326852377895432192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2020</a></blockquote>
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“This is not about ideology. This is not about being men or women. This is about love,” <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-12/eu-unveils-first-strategy-lgbt-rights-discrimination">said</a> Commission Vice President Vera Jourova. “This strategy is not against anyone. This does not put anyone on a pedestal. But it is about guaranteeing safety and non-discrimination for everyone.”
Still, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-equality-lgbt/eu-launches-lgbt-protection-strategy-as-homophobia-rises-in-east-idINKBN27S257">described</a> the new plan as “a challenge to right-wing governments in Poland and Hungary that have become increasingly homophobic in the past year.”
The commission’s multi-pronged <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2068">approach</a> focuses on discrimination, safety, &#8220;building inclusive societies,&#8221; and “leading the call for LGBTIQ equality around the world.”
“Family law is member states’ competence, we fully respect it,” Jourova <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-equality-lgbt/eu-launches-lgbt-protection-strategy-as-homophobia-rises-in-east-idINKBN27S257">said</a>. “However, when applying national law, member states must respect their international human rights obligations and applicable EU law. Member states should also respect the fundamental values on which the Union is based, including equality and human rights.”
As Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-equality-lgbt/eu-launches-lgbt-protection-strategy-as-homophobia-rises-in-east-idINKBN27S257">reported</a>:
<blockquote>The new strategy comes as right-wing governments in some former Communist eastern EU member states have made campaigning against gay rights a central part of their ruling ideology.
Ahead of the re-election earlier this year, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda campaigned against an “LGBT ideology” he branded more destructive than communism. He has pledged to ban the teaching of gay rights in schools.
This week, Hungary’s right-wing government proposed a constitutional amendment to require children to be brought up with a “Christian” interpretation of gender roles, and a law that would effectively ban adoptions by same-sex couples.</blockquote>
In July, the EU <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/31/europe/poland-lgbt-eu-funding-intl/index.html">blocked</a> funding to several Polish towns that had applied for financial support after declaring themselves “LGBT-free zones.”
European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli <a href="https://twitter.com/helenadalli/status/1288122195927896068">tweeted</a> at the time, “Member States and state authorities must respect EU values and fundamental rights.”
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EU values and fundamental rights must be respected by Member States and state authorities. 
This is why 6 town twinning applications invilving Polish authorities that adopted &#39;LGBTI free zones&#39; or &#39;family rights&#39; resolutions were rejected.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LGBTI?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LGBTI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UnionOfEquality?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UnionOfEquality</a>
&mdash; Helena Dalli (@helenadalli) <a href="https://twitter.com/helenadalli/status/1288122195927896068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
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“This is why six town-twinning applications involving Polish authorities that adopted ‘LGBTI free zones’ or ‘family rights’ resolutions were rejected,” she added.
<a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-12/eu-unveils-first-strategy-lgbt-rights-discrimination">According</a> to The Associated Press, President Duda has cast the gay rights movement as a threat to Poland’s Roman Catholic values, while “the rise in hostility has left many Poles who identify as LGBTQ living in anger or fear, and some have emigrated.”
The EU Commission cited a survey that found 43% of LGBT people last year felt they had been discriminated against, a six percent increase from 2012.
“We are still a long way away from the full inclusion and acceptance that LGBTQI people deserve,” said Commissioner Dalli. “Together with the [EU] member states, I trust we can make Europe a better and safer place for all.”
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Coronavirus cases have skyrocketed in the European Union, and Europe has now pulled well ahead of the United States in new and active cases of COVID-19, with major hotspots cropping up in France, Germany, and even the United Kingdom.
&#8220;Much of Europe is now seeing a major coronavirus surge, to the point that the European Union countries (with 28 countries and roughly 100 million more people than the U.S.) has surpassed America — which is also seeing its own sharp spike — in current cases overall,&#8221; New York Magazine reports.
&#8220;France and Germany reported record daily coronavirus cases on Saturday, as new restrictions went into effect in several European countries in an effort to slow the second wave of infection,&#8221; <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/10/17/covid-19-restrictions-tighten-further-in-europe-amid-second-wave-of-infections">EU News adds</a>.
<a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20201017151359-xc8gp/%22">Reuters notes</a> that there appears to be a &#8220;global&#8221; surge, with the number of cases, worldwide, rising by a record 400,000 on Friday &#8212; the single largest one-day rise since the global coronavirus pandemic began. Europe, itself, is averaging around 140,000 new cases of the virus today, contributing markedly to the global total.
&#8220;Of every 100 infections reported around the world, 34 were from European countries,&#8221; Reuters reports. &#8220;The region is currently reporting a million new infections about every nine days and has reported more than 6.3 million cases since the pandemic began.&#8221;
&#8220;Major European countries &#8211; United Kingdom, France, Russia, Netherlands, and Spain &#8212; accounted for about half of Europe&#8217;s new cases in the week to Oct. 18,&#8221; the outlet adds. &#8220;France is reporting the highest seven-day average of new cases in Europe with 19,425 infections per day followed by the United Kingdom, Russia, Spain, and the Netherlands in worst affected European countries.&#8221;
Both Reuters and the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54585828">BBC</a> note that European nations are not expected to adopt the kind of strict lockdown measures that stalled the spread of the virus in the spring, with governments warning that, while serious measures are needed to control the pandemic, EU residents simply will not accept a second round of restrictions.
Instead, France is enforcing a strict 9 pm curfew across Paris and several other cities marked as &#8220;hotspots,&#8221; and Italian officials are meeting on Sunday to discuss a halt to &#8220;non-essential services&#8221; like elective surgeries and sporting events. In Spain, authorities are enforcing a tw0-week suspension on service in bars and restaurants.
Germany is limiting &#8220;private gatherings to 15 attendees and a curfew for bars and restaurants from 11 p.m. in areas with a weekly rate of more than 35 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants,&#8221; <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/coronavirus-germany-announces-tougher-restrictions/">per POLITICO</a>. If the rate of cases goes up, Germany&#8217;s officials say, they will add further restrictions.
&#8220;In Britain, a three-tier regional approach to battle the pandemic introduced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson went into effect, with each level bringing progressively tighter restrictions,&#8221; EuroNews reports. &#8220;On Saturday, tier-2 cities like London and York were subject to a ban on socializing with people from other households indoors, while the county of Lancashire joined Liverpool in tier-3 with the tightest restrictions.&#8221;
Although cases are on the increase in the United States, the rate of increase is still just 5% <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/17/us-may-face-substantial-third-wave-of-coronavirus-cases-experts-warn.html">according to Johns Hopkins</a>. Experts are warning, however, that as the U.S. enters that typical &#8220;flu season,&#8221; and many activities move indoors because of inclement weather, Americans could be staring down a &#8220;third wave&#8221; of the virus.
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European Union Launches ‘LGBTIQ Equality Strategy’ To Challenge ‘Right-Wing Govts’

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