Aside from the country map, ILGA-Europe also released its press statement in May 2024. The release warns about the limitations of European countries equipment to safeguard LGBTQIA+ people’s rights with the rise of far-rights parties. The evidence highlighted in the report recalls that “only legal protections can ensure that fundamental rights are guaranteed.”
The main backlashed are noted in EU accession countries, such as Georgia and Turkey. The efforts to introduce new legislations to protect LGBTQIA+ people’s rights were delayed or stopped in both countries, also based on Russian influence of anti-LGBTQIA+ propaganda.
Similarly, many EU countries are stalled in the evolutions of their legislation framework, which will make it easier for newly elected governments to backlash human rights. A clear example is the case of Italy, some regions are retrieving same-sex couples from their parenthood rights. This was allowed to happen because the stalling on passing protective laws lasted for too long, and a far-right government was elected in 2022.
Finally, some EU countries, such as Greece and Estonia are amending and proposing new laws to permit LGBTQIA+ people the full enjoyment of their rights. This happens both through the guarantee of rights, such as same-sex marriages, parenthoods, etc.; as well as protection laws, to finally criminalize anti-LGBTQIA+ actions, and ban conversion practices.
In a word, many disparities are noted in the European countries when it comes to the protection of LGBTQIA+ people’s lives and rights. However, if some countries are progressing, while considering all legal and rights-related aspects together (equality and non-discrimination, family, hate crime and hate speech, legal gender recognition, intersex bodily integrity, civil society space and asylum) only two countries rate above 80%: Malta and Iceland.