{"id":5521,"date":"2026-04-23T11:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/lu\/5521\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:35:11","slug":"luxembourg-foreign-minister-on-clash-with-ousted-hungary-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/lu\/5521\/","title":{"rendered":"Luxembourg foreign minister on clash with ousted Hungary leader"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luxembourg\u2019s foreign minister Xavier Bettel<\/a> has recalled a heated exchange with Hungary\u2019s ousted<\/a> prime minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n<\/a> over anti-LGBTQ+ laws.<\/p>\n

Bettel, who was Luxembourg\u2019s first publicly gay prime minister, serving from 2013 to 2023, told Euronews Europe Today<\/a> that he directly confronted Orb\u00e1n during a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels. It followed Hungary\u2019s 2021 ban on the so-called \u201cpromotion\u201d of homosexuality and gender change to people under 18.<\/p>\n

Read next<\/p>\n

Bettel publicly came out as gay in 2008, and later became the first gay man to marry while in office, and is widely praised for his impact on LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the fact that I\u2019m gay\u201d \u2013 Xavier Bettel on his dispute with ousted prime minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n over Hungary\u2019s anti-LGBTQ+ laws<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing gay is not a choice, being homophobic is\u201d<\/p>\n

Luxembourg’s foreign minister @Xavier_Bettel<\/a> reacts on #EuropeToday<\/a> to the EU Court of Justice ruling that Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s anti-LGBTQ rules breach EU law.<\/p>\n

Full interview: pic.twitter.com\/NQXuNEa3xY<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 euronews (@euronews) April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Bettel told Euronews: \u201cIt\u2019s not the fact that I\u2019m gay that I just fight for gay rights, but it\u2019s the fact that I fight for minorities and it\u2019s always easier to fight against the smallest group in some countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

During Orb\u00e1n\u2019s time in power, LGBTQ+ rights across the nation were in jeopardy, notably in 2021. The government also amended the constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, limited legal recognition for the trans community, and cancelled Budapest Pride<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing gay is not a choice, but being homophobic is a choice\u201d \u2013 Bettel recalling his exchange with Orb\u00e1n<\/p>\n

Recalling the exchange with Orb\u00e1n, Bettel said: \u201cAs I told Viktor Orb\u00e1n at that moment, it was not my choice [to be gay] and the most difficult part of that was to accept myself and then to get blamed because I\u2019m different from him, and I said: \u2018Being gay is not a choice, but being homophobic is a choice\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bettel also compared the discrimination to historic persecution of minorities in Europe: \u201cTo do politics by blaming someone reminds me seriously of how it starts with Jewish people and then with gypsies and etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Bettel was prime minister of Luxembourg, the country quickly became one of the most LGBTQ+ progressive countries in Europe. Bettel has been widely reported to have stated Luxembourger \u201cpeople do not consider the fact of whether someone is gay or not\u201d.<\/p>\n

What did Bettel do for LGBTQ+ rights in Luxembourg?<\/p>\n

Under his government, Luxembourg legalised same-sex marriage, introduced full adoption rights for same-sex couples and ruled in favour of legal gender change though ones own gender autonomy.<\/p>\n

His comments come shortly after a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) this week, which governed that Hungary\u2019s anti-LGBTQ+ laws violate European Union law<\/a> and fundamental EU values.<\/p>\n

Judges said Hungarian law stigmatises LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender individuals, and wrongly associates them with paedophilia.<\/p>\n

Who is in line to become Hungary\u2019s next prime minister?<\/p>\n

Following Orb\u00e1n\u2019s departure from office after 16 years in power, P\u00e9ter Magyar, leader of the Tisza Party, defeated him in a landslide election victory, positioning him to become the next prime minister of Hungary.<\/p>\n

The responsibility will presumably fall on Magyar\u2019s shoulders. During his election campaign, the politician remained silent on LGBTQ+ rights.<\/p>\n