LGBT RIGHTS REQUIRED TO JOIN EU

The European Parliament has confirmed, through two resolutions, that the adoption of LGBT equality is required before Turkey and Montenegro can joined the European Union.

On Wednesday, the parliament said that the two countries need to take more steps to bring themselves in line with EU standards in the field of non‑discrimination.

Parliamentarians urged Turkey “to ensure that equality, regardless of sex […] or sexual orientation, is guaranteed by the law and effectively enforced”.

They cited Turkey’s forced closures of LGBT organisations, the army’s classification of homosexuality as a psychosexual illness, ongoing murders of transgender people, and the withdrawal of gender and sexual orientation from a draft anti-discrimination law.

As for Montenegro, parliamentarians welcomed the newly-adopted general law on prohibition of discrimination in employment or provision of public services, but regretted that “discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity widely persists, including on the part of state authorities”.

The parliamentarians said that they will keep monitoring Turkey, Montenegro, and seven other countries vying to join the EU.