A Polish town that lost European Union funding after it set up a zone free of "LGBT ideology" will receive government financial support, Poland's justice minister said on Tuesday.
The ruling nationalists' position against gay rights has become a flash-point in a culture war pitting the religious right against more liberal-minded Poles.
Critics, including the European Union, have accused the Law and Justice (PiS) government of backtracking on womens' and LGBT rights and running a campaign laced with homophobic rhetoric in the run-up to last month's presidential election.
"We are supporting a municipality that has a pro-family agenda, promotes support for well-functioning families, and fights against the imposed ideology of LGBT and gender, which is being pushed by the European Commission," Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro told a news conference.
The town of Tuchów in southern Poland will now receive 250,000 zlotys ($67,800) from the ministry's Justice Fund.
Tuchów had its application for a European twinning programme rejected after it passed a motion rejecting "LGBT ideology". Under the programme the town could have applied for a grant of up to 25,000 euros.
EU Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli had said six town-twinning applications involving Polish authorities that adopted "LGBTI free zones" or "family rights" resolutions were rejected. Read more via TVN24
Zbigniew Ziobro gave the "LGBT-free" commune of Tuchów three times more money than it was supposed to get from the European Union
Why do we need the European Union when we have a Justice Fund, right? This assumption was made by Zbigniew Ziobro, who donated money today to the LGBT-free community. It is about Tuchów - a local government that did not receive money from the union, because it adopted a resolution stigmatizing the community of non-heteronormative people. I will remind you of it - the Justice Fund was created to help ... victims of crime.
Money for LGBT Free Commune
Today, the Minister of Justice, celebrating his 50th birthday, organized a press conference to which he invited the councilors of the Tuchów commune. In order to "compensate" them for the lack of an EU subsidy from the "Town twinning" program. The European Commission decided that it would not grant the postulated EUR 25,000, because Tuchów adopted a resolution "liberating" the commune from "LGBT ideology".
"Only because the councilors of the Tuchów commune had the courage to stand up for the basic values related to the protection of the family, freedom and tradition, it was only for this reason that they became the subject of harassment and assault by the commissioner for equality"
... said Zbigniew Ziobro, Minister of Justice today. And he awarded Tukhov almost three times more money than in the original application - PLN 250,000. The money will go to the local Volunteer Fire Department. Read more