EU Enlargement: Boost or Barrier for LGBT Rights?

Equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people have become an important part of the process of EU enlargement. The Acquis Communautaire requires countries that aim to become members of the European Union to transpose anti-discrimination laws, and the Copenhagen Criteria demand respect for human rights and minorities. The experience of the 2004/2007 enlargements shows that while all countries complied with the EU requirements regarding the transposition of LGBT rights law, social change has taken place at a much slower pace. Public debates in the post-accession period have revealed a high level of homophobia, including discriminatory statements by leading politicians. In many countries a legal backlash has occurred, turning back the clock on LGBT rights legislation. We analyse the developments in the CEE countries that accessed in 2004 and investigate whether they have predictive power for the current and future enlargement rounds in the Western Balkans. Based on data from qualitative interviews with LGBT activists, we conclude that important changes have taken place. On the one hand, the EU disposes of new leverage tools allowing it to lay more emphasis on LGBT rights. On the other hand, the public debate on LGBT rights in the Western Balkans is taking place in the pre-accession phase. These changes however, do not guarantee that legal backlashes will not occur post-accession.status: publishe