The Co-evolution of EU’s Eastern Enlargement and LGBT Politics: An Ever Gayer Union?

Abstract

The EU identifies and presents itself as an organisation founded on 'fundamental values' and as a defender and guardian of fundamental rights. The development of this 'fundamental rights myth' 1 (Smismans, 2010) has taken place against a broader background of the globalization of human rights discourse (Smismans, 2010; Stychin, 2004). The discourse of fundamental values has also increasingly become the driving narrative of the EU's foreign policy, including the Enlargement and Neighbourhood policies. Article 3(5) clarifies that 'In its relations with the wider world, the [European] Union shall uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to […] the protection of human rights.' Article 49 makes respect for the so-called founding values-'respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights' (Art. 2 TEU)-a precondition for EU membership. In recent years, LGBT rights have become part and parcel of this fundamental rights myth (Ayoub and Paternotte 2014a, p.3): being 'gay-friendly' has now become a symbol for

Fighting “Gayropa”: Europeanization and Instrumentalization of LGBTI Rights in Ukrainian Public Debate

“…However, it did not result in a shift in societal attitudes and the behavior of political elites (Chetaille 2011;O'Dwyer and Schwartz 2010;Slootmaeckers and Touquet 2016). Since the process of enlargement was largely elite-driven, and the adoption of new legislation turned out to be a very technocratic and topdown process (Roseneil and Stoilova 2011;Slootmaeckers and Touquet 2016), the reforms were in many cases seen as externally imposed or as a mere technicality to satisfy formal requirements of the European Union with no need to move from adoption to implementation (Haughton 2007;Kutter and Trappmann 2010). On the one hand, EU accession created for LGBTI activists new capacities to lobby their interests at the national level, and gave them such additional advantages as mobility (free movement inside the EU member states) and access to a large number of "social spaces and organizational resources … bringing together the main actors and empowering them with the resources for transnational activism … providing the mobilizing structures to engender a process that was not available in the target state" (Ayoub 2013, 280).…”

“…Regarding Europeanization of LGBTI rights, previous research has proven that conditionality politics has been effective in bringing legal changes. However, it did not result in a shift in societal attitudes and the behavior of political elites (Chetaille 2011;O'Dwyer and Schwartz 2010;Slootmaeckers and Touquet 2016). Since the process of enlargement was largely elite-driven, and the adoption of new legislation turned out to be a very technocratic and topdown process (Roseneil and Stoilova 2011;Slootmaeckers and Touquet 2016), the reforms were in many cases seen as externally imposed or as a mere technicality to satisfy formal requirements of the European Union with no need to move from adoption to implementation (Haughton 2007;Kutter and Trappmann 2010).…”

“…In order to answer that question, this work examines the traceable effects of EU LGBTI rights promotion against the backdrop of political instrumentalization of homophobia in Ukraine. Drawing on the existing studies (Ayoub 2016;Buyantueva and Shevtsova 2019;O'Dwyer 2018;Slootmaeckers and Touquet 2016) and extensive empirical data collected in Ukraine, this article investigates the promotion of LGBTI rights norms by the EU using three mechanisms: conditionality, persuasion, and capacity building. It addresses the responses these mechanisms get within the complex domestic context from various national actors: political parties, the national government, and civil society organizations.…”

The Europeanization of anti-LGBT hate crime laws in the Western Balkans

“…In the context of the WB, particularly the last category seems to be the key. While EU accession negotiations are mostly about economic issues, in recent years the EU has developed an approach in which human rights are pushed to the front, described as 'fundamentals first' [14]. Among the norms championed by European institutions is LGBT equality.…”

The litmus test of pride: analysing the emergence of the Belgrade “Ghost” pride in the context of EU accession

“…LGBT Pride parades. Consider, for example, the European Union (EU) enlargement process in which Pride events have emerged as a symbolic marker of these countries' readiness to access the EU (Ammaturo 2017;Slootmaeckers and Touquet 2016). In fact, the ability of…”