Pride is protest! Solidarity with the LGBTI community of the Balkans

In this episode, Sibylle Steffan, EGP Committee Member is in conversation with Natalija Simovic, Local Councillor and Board member of Don't let Belgrade d(r)own. They discuss the situation of the LGBTI community across Europe and the Serbian Greens' fight for same sex marriage legislation.

A historic EuroPride

In support of the LGBTI community of the Balkans, Green MEPs and activists joined the EuroPride in Belgrade, Serbia! This pan-European Pride is hosted by a different city each year and is the first ever EuroPride in Southeast Europe.

It took a lot of fighting from LGBTI organisations to get this edition of EuroPride to go ahead in Belgrade, faced with a ban from authorities and then a limited Pride march.

Pride is a protest! It is a protest for trans rights, for intersex people, for equal rights for same sex couples, for queer reproductive rights, for safety and dignity. It is a fight that will only stop once LGBTI people can live freely and openly everywhere.

For the Greens, the fight for LGBTI rights has always been a part of our political DNA. In Switzerland, the Greens actively campaigned for equal marriage. In Belgium, they are leading the government effort to ban all so-called ‘conversion therapies’. In the EU Parliament, Green MEPs had a 100% voting record for LGBTI rights during their 2014-2019 mandate and continue to spearhead campaigns to make the EU safer and more inclusive for LGBTI people, voting on a resolution to declare the EU a #LGBTFreedomZone.

After two years of smaller pride celebrations due to the pandemic, we were happy to gather the Green family in Belgrade to finally celebrate EuroPride, bringing together our Gender, Queer and Balkan networks to discuss the pressing issues that we are currently facing from a Green, feminist and queer perspective.

In Serbia, we met with our friends from the Queer, Gender and Balkan Networks, held panels on the state of LGBTI and feminist policies across Europe, and marched in support of LGBTI rights. Despite a city blocked off due to sports events and a military parade, threatening anti-gay protestors, and the rain, we marched and danced together.

Thank you to Belgrade Pride and all those who joined the struggle for equal rights for LGBTI people in Belgrade for a historic EuroPride. This is international solidarity at its best. This pride is a loud call to the whole of Europe – everyone must have the right to love!