Świdnik, a town with more than 40,000 inhabitants, had previously committed itself to "fighting" the "LGBT+ ideology" and "gay propaganda", after which it immediately lost some 8.5 million euros in Norwegian (non-EU member) grants.
Subsequently, in November 2021, the City Council amended the resolution to remove the explicit mention of "LGBT+ ideology". However, as EU funds for the city are still at risk, the council made a huge U-turn and unanimously adopted a new statement on “the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms” at the end of December last year, Notes From Poland reports.
The city will now work to “combat all forms of discrimination based on gender, race, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, belief, disability, age or sexual orientation”.
Świdnik is not the first city to succumb to the pressure of financial sanctions. For example, city councilors in Kraśnik, who first wanted to “protect” Polish families from the LGBT+ community, withdrew their statement. Entire regions, such as Swiety Krzyz, have already decided to adjust their attitude towards LGBT+ people.
