Hungary’s parliament has voted to remove provisions restricting LGBTQ+ content from a 2021 child-protection law, marking a significant policy reversal under Prime Minister Péter Magyar. The amendment passed on 13 October 2026 with 139 votes in favour and 51 against, but rights groups say important discriminatory measures remain in force.
The vote is one of the clearest departures so far from the LGBTQ+ policies introduced during Viktor Orbán’s long period in government. Hungary’s governing Tisza party used its two-thirds parliamentary majority to pass the bill without support from Orbán’s Fidesz party.
What Hungary’s parliament changed
The amended law no longer bans the “portrayal” or “promotion” of sexual and gender diversity in material accessible to children. Instead, it refers more generally to protecting people under 18 from content that could seriously harm their physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar has presented the change as a child-protection measure that should apply regardless of sexual orientation. His government has also said the amendment brings Hungarian law closer to European Union requirements after the country’s previous restrictions were found incompatible with EU values and legal standards.
- Vote: 139 lawmakers supported the amendment and 51 opposed it.
- Immediate effect: The legislation removes specific restrictions on LGBTQ+ content from the 2021 law.
- Political significance: It represents a major reversal of a central Orbán-era policy.
- Remaining concerns: Other rules affecting transgender people, same-sex couples and LGBTQ+ assemblies were not changed.
Why the vote matters in European politics
The decision has wider significance for European affairs because the original Hungarian law became a major dispute between Budapest and EU institutions. Critics argued that the measure stigmatised LGBTQ+ people by linking homosexuality and gender transition with legislation presented as a response to child abuse.
In April 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union found that the 2021 legislation violated the identity and fundamental principles of the European Union. The ruling increased pressure on Hungary to revise the law and contributed to the political context surrounding Tuesday’s vote.
The amendment therefore goes beyond a domestic legal change. It reflects an effort by Hungary’s new government to repair relations with Brussels and demonstrate compliance with EU law and standards. However, the vote does not settle the broader dispute over Hungary’s record on equality, democratic rights and freedom of assembly.
Orbán’s Fidesz opposes the amendment
Fidesz lawmakers voted against the bill, accusing the government of weakening the original legislation because of pressure from the EU. The governing Tisza party’s two-thirds majority meant that opposition support was not required.
Magyar won Hungary’s April election, ending Orbán’s 16-year period in power. Although LGBTQ+ rights were not a central theme of his election campaign, the prime minister has since adopted a more conciliatory position and indicated that some policies introduced under the previous government should be revised.
Rights groups welcome the move but call for further reforms
The amendment was welcomed by LGBTQ+ rights advocates as an important step, but they warned that it does not restore all rights affected by legislation adopted since 2020.
Among the unresolved issues are restrictions on the legal recognition of transgender people and barriers to adoption by same-sex couples. Human Rights Watch has also said that discriminatory language remains in Hungary’s Fundamental Law, while rules in the Freedom of Assembly Act have been used to restrict Pride marches and other LGBTQ+-related gatherings.
That means the parliamentary vote removes some of the most visible content restrictions but does not amount to a comprehensive reversal of Hungary’s LGBTQ+ legal framework.
What happens next?
The amendment will now need to proceed through Hungary’s legal publication and implementation process. Its practical effect will depend on how the revised child-protection language is interpreted and applied by national authorities.
Further reforms would be required to address the wider set of laws affecting LGBTQ+ people. Those changes could become a continuing test of the Magyar government’s relationship with EU institutions and of its approach to rights and constitutional protections at home.
For the EU, the key issue is whether Hungary’s legislative changes are sufficient to comply with the Court of Justice ruling. The vote is a notable development in current EU politics, but it does not remove all concerns about discrimination or freedom of assembly in the country.
Conclusion
Hungary’s parliament has taken a significant step by removing LGBTQ+-specific content restrictions from the Orbán-era child-protection law. The decision improves alignment with EU legal standards, but it leaves other contested provisions untouched. The next stage will be to see whether the government pursues the broader reforms demanded by rights groups and required to fully address the concerns raised at European level.
