New Hungarian Government Must Revise LGBTQ Laws After EU Court Ruling but Has Not Set Timetable

Peter Magyar's Tisza Party won 138 of 199 seats in Hungary's April general election, ending Viktor Orban's 16-year rule as prime minister. Voter turnout reached the highest level recorded in recent Hungarian elections. The European Court of Justice ruled in April that Hungary's 2021 anti-LGBTQ law breached multiple provisions of EU law.

The court found violations of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights covering non-discrimination, private and family life, and freedom of expression. It also recorded the first breach of Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union in any case against a member state. The 2021 law bans promotion of homosexuality or gender diversity to anyone under 18 in schools, media and advertising.

Bookstores must wrap LGBTQ-themed books in plastic and cannot sell them near schools or churches. A 2020 measure removed the right to legal gender recognition for trans and intersex people and blocked updates to official documents. A separate 2020 constitutional amendment limited the definition of family to marriage between a man and a woman.

Early 2025 legislation made organising Pride marches a criminal offence carrying up to one year in prison and authorised police use of facial recognition against participants. Up to 200,000 people attended Budapest Pride in June 2025 despite the ban. Hungary scored 23 percent on ILGA-Europe's 2026 Rainbow Map, ranking 38th of 49 European countries; France scored 60 percent.

On May 12, justice minister nominee Marta Gorog told a parliamentary committee that the government must carry out a lawful correction of the legislation so that Hungarian law reflects international and European standards. The government has not announced a timetable for any changes.

Magyar stated during the campaign that children are better off adopted by same-sex couples than remaining in state care.