Dutch Leader Challenges Hungary to Leave EU Over LGBTQ Spat

  • Orban faces fury of EU leaders in heated summit debate
  • Hungary risks losing EU cash over weak democratic standards

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte

Photographer: Sem van der Wal/AFP/Getty Images

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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte challenged Viktor Orban to trigger the process of leaving the European Union as a spat over LGBTQ rights deepened the Hungarian premier’s isolation in the bloc.

During a summit in Brussels on Thursday, Rutte asked why Orban doesn’t leave the EU if it doesn’t subscribe to its values, according to two diplomats familiar with the comments. Other countries joined the chorus lambasting Orban over a controversial law curtailing public discussion of LGBTQ issues.