Luxembourg foreign minister reveals clash with ousted Hungary leader on anti-LGBTQ+ laws
"As I told Viktor Orbán at that moment, it was not my choice [to be gay]," said Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Xavier Bettel
By Aaron Sugg
Luxembourg’s foreign minister Xavier Bettel has recalled a heated exchange with Hungary’s ousted prime minister Viktor Orbán over anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
Bettel, who was Luxembourg’s first publicly gay prime minister, serving from 2013 to 2023, told Euronews Europe Today that he directly confronted Orbán during a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels. It followed Hungary’s 2021 ban on the so-called “promotion” of homosexuality and gender change to people under 18.
Bettel publicly came out as gay in 2008, and later became the first gay man to marry while in office, and is widely praised for his impact on LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance in the country.
“It’s not the fact that I’m gay” – Xavier Bettel on his dispute with ousted prime minister Viktor Orbán over Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws
“Being gay is not a choice, being homophobic is”
— euronews (@euronews) April 22, 2026
Luxembourg's foreign minister @Xavier_Bettel reacts on #EuropeToday to the EU Court of Justice ruling that Viktor Orbán’s anti-LGBTQ rules breach EU law.
Full interview: pic.twitter.com/NQXuNEa3xY
Bettel told Euronews: “It’s not the fact that I’m gay that I just fight for gay rights, but it’s the fact that I fight for minorities and it’s always easier to fight against the smallest group in some countries.”
During Orbán’s time in power, LGBTQ+ rights across the nation were in jeopardy, notably in 2021. The government also amended the constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, limited legal recognition for the trans community, and cancelled Budapest Pride.
“Being gay is not a choice, but being homophobic is a choice” – Bettel recalling his exchange with Orbán
Recalling the exchange with Orbán, Bettel said: “As I told Viktor Orbán at that moment, it was not my choice [to be gay] and the most difficult part of that was to accept myself and then to get blamed because I’m different from him, and I said: ‘Being gay is not a choice, but being homophobic is a choice’.”
Bettel also compared the discrimination to historic persecution of minorities in Europe: “To do politics by blaming someone reminds me seriously of how it starts with Jewish people and then with gypsies and etc.”
While Bettel was prime minister of Luxembourg, the country quickly became one of the most LGBTQ+ progressive countries in Europe. Bettel has been widely reported to have stated Luxembourger “people do not consider the fact of whether someone is gay or not”.
What did Bettel do for LGBTQ+ rights in Luxembourg?
Under his government, Luxembourg legalised same-sex marriage, introduced full adoption rights for same-sex couples and ruled in favour of legal gender change though ones own gender autonomy.
His comments come shortly after a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) this week, which governed that Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws violate European Union law and fundamental EU values.
Judges said Hungarian law stigmatises LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender individuals, and wrongly associates them with paedophilia.
Who is in line to become Hungary’s next prime minister?
Following Orbán’s departure from office after 16 years in power, Péter Magyar, leader of the Tisza Party, defeated him in a landslide election victory, positioning him to become the next prime minister of Hungary.
The responsibility will presumably fall on Magyar’s shoulders. During his election campaign, the politician remained silent on LGBTQ+ rights.