Dutch MPs say Slovakia’s changes breach EU law and curtail LGBT+ rights.
The Dutch parliament has called on its government to take Slovakia to the European Court of Justice over a recent constitutional amendment that, it says, breaches European Union law and limits the rights of LGBT+ people.
The resolution, passed on 16 October, refers to Article 259 of the EU Treaty, which allows one member state to bring another before the court for failing to meet its EU obligations.
Slovakia’s amendment, adopted under Prime Minister Robert Fico, defines only two genders, bans same-sex adoption and asserts that national law takes precedence over EU law in areas linked to “national identity and cultural-ethical questions”. Critics say this challenges the EU’s legal supremacy and risks undermining fundamental rights.
Laurens Dassen, a liberal MP from the Volt party who proposed the motion, said he hoped the court would “stop Fico’s violations of LGBT+ rights and our shared European freedoms”.
While the Dutch parliament cannot itself bring a case, it urged the government to lodge a complaint with the European Commission — a required first step before any court proceedings. If the Commission does not act within three months, the Netherlands could pursue the case directly.
EU law expert Radovan Geist told SME that, if Slovakia is found in breach, financial penalties could follow, potentially deducted from EU funds allocated to Bratislava.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry said it viewed Slovakia’s amendment “with disappointment and concern”, warning that it could undermine the principle of EU law supremacy.
If filed, the case would be one of the rare instances of an EU member state suing another — the last such case came in 2010, when Hungary unsuccessfully challenged Slovakia at the EU court over a presidential visit dispute.
