Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the state radio Friday that the European Commission’s infringement proceeding concerning the passage of Bill T/16365 was “legalized hooliganism.” The bill, while designed to protect children against pedophilia, also outlaws discussions of the LGBTQ+ community in schools. The United Nations previously denounced the legislation, saying, “The bill would negate the existence of trans and gender diverse people in Hungary and adversely impact them in almost every aspect of their daily life.” The infringement concerns the law’s prohibition of “‘divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality’ for individuals under 18.”

Prime Minister Orban called the European Commission’s stance on the bill “shameful.” In a previous statement on Kossuth radio, Prime Minister Orban said, “The answer is not to provoke [children] into changing sex. We must encourage them to try to live with the physical and mental features that they have, and thus to find their places in the adult world.”

Orban also released a statement that claimed that the new law “simply states clearly that only parents can decide on the sexual education of their children,” and it “does not conflict with any lofty ideals or European laws.” He stressed that the law does not affect “the lives and sexual practices of adults over 18.”