We are calling on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU leadership to protect LGBTIQ+ Pride events and defend democratic freedoms across Europe. Across the continent, Pride marches are increasingly facing political hostility, funding cuts, and unlawful restrictions. These attacks are not isolated incidents, they are urgent warning signs of a broader democratic backsliding that threatens everyone's fundamental right to peaceful assembly and free speech.

That is why ILGA-Europe and the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) have launched the Protect Pride, Protect Democracy campaign. We need your voice to demand that the European Union clearly monitor, publicly rebuke, and financially penalise any Member State that attempts to restrict Pride. Sign the petition today calling on the European Union to:

1. Recognise restrictions on Pride as indicators of democratic backsliding Because attacks on Pride are often warning signs of broader attacks on democratic freedoms. 

2. Monitor and publicly react to attacks on Pride as threats to democratic freedoms Because the voice of the EU has weight.  

3. Strengthen protections for the right to peaceful assembly across Europe Because everyone deserves the freedom to gather, express themselves and be seen safely.

Read the official letter to President von der Leyen:

Dear President von der Leyen,

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President Kallas,

We are writing to you during Pride Season to urge the European Commission and the European External Action Service to take decisive, unwavering action to protect Pride and fundamental freedoms across Europe.

Pride is not simply a celebration. It is one of the most visible expressions of the freedoms thatunderpin democratic societies: the freedom to gather, the  freedom to speak, and the freedom to be seen. For millions of people across Europe, Pride is what those freedoms look like in practice.

Recent rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union have reaffirmed that the values enshrined in Article 2 are not aspirational principles, but binding obligations for all Member States. Yet across Europe, Pride events and the communities that organise them are increasingly coming under pressure.

As leaders of one of the world’s largest democratic unions, you are uniquely positioned to ensure that attacks on Pride are met with meaningful institutional consequences. We ask that the Commission and the EEAS establish a clear and consistent response framework for any official restriction on Prides, fundamental freedoms, or the right to peaceful assembly. To give the word It's true substance, efforts by state authorities to dismantle Pride should be met with a meaningful institutional response. Specifically, we call on the Commission and the EEAS to:

1. Issue a formal public rebuke against Member States, accession countries and third countries that
seek to restrict Pride and the rights it represents.

2. To establish strong tools in the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework to ensure that EU
funding can swiftly be blocked or withdrawn when Member States violate the values and obligations
set out in EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

3. Establish a rapid response mechanism to provide timely support to LGBTI organisations and Pride
organisers in emergencies and in response to threats against Pride events, including in EU member
states.

Generations of Europeans worked to cultivate societies rooted in freedom, dignity and democracy. We ask you to honour what they built by protecting the freedoms that allow Pride, and the democratic values it represents, to flourish. Protecting these freedoms today will help ensure that
future generations inherit a Europe that is open, democratic and inclusive for all.

Work with us to Protect Pride. Protect Democracy.

Yours sincerely,

Read more about the campaign & take action at ProtectPrideProtectDemocracy.com