Krasnik Suffers Consequences Of The “Free Of LGBTQ” Resolution

Discover the shocking consequences of Poland's "LGBTQ-free zones" in this eye-opening account of Mayor Wojciech Wilk's experience.

Over the past few weeks, I have been engaging with the concerning issue of anti-LGBTQ views in Poland, particularly in the creation of "LGBTQ-free zones," as well as closely following the EU's response to this matter. But today, I want to highlight the harsh reality of the resolution of "LGBTQ-free zones", which many municipalities have signed. There are many people who assume it won't result in anything, but that couldn't be further from the truth. As exemplified by the Mayor of Krasnik, Wojciech Wilk, the consequences hit home and hurt deeply. Let's take a closer look at what happened.

The Consequences Of The “Free Of LGBTQ” Zones Resolution

When the resolution was introduced to him, Krasnik’s Mayor Wilk neither appreciated the true meaning of this anti-LGBTQ resolution nor realized the disastrous consequences that his signature on this document would have for his small town.

The End Of Twinning

No sooner had he signed the document after unanimous approval by the City Council than Nogent-sur-Oise, a French city located north of Paris, broke off its exchange partnership with his city.

But what is a twinning between two municipalities?

“Twinning is the meeting of two municipalities that intend to associate in order to act in a European perspective, to confront their problems and to develop closer and closer ties of friendship between them,” as defined by the former Secretary-General of the Council of European Municipalities, Jean Bareth.

According to the AFCCRE (French Association of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions), a twinning is :

• A political contract between two local authorities
• Unlimited in time
• A multidisciplinary field of action
• The direct participation of citizens
• A means of raising awareness
• A means of initiation to mobility
• A framework for action and international projects
• A space for an exchange of experiences and opinions
• A source of learning

The Suppression Of Project Funding

Then it was Norway’s turn that was supposed to fund a $10 million development project in Krasnik, but announced that they did not want to do business with a Polish city that declared itself “free of LGBTQ”.

European Union Financial Sanctions

Besides all this, there are financial sanctions from the European Union, which has indicated that it does not want to subsidize the projects of cities declaring themselves “free of LGBTQ”.

For Krasnik, this means that they won’t receive the subsidies planned for the development of electric buses or youth programs.

Europe’s Laughingstock

“We have become Europe’s laughingstock, and it’s the citizens, not the local politicians who’ve suffered most,” lamented Wilk.

Now the mayor of Krasnik has launched a battle to repeal the anti-LGBTQ resolution, although his battle appears to be lost for the moment. His city council members rejected his repeal request last year and have just rejected his request for a new vote.

Krasnik is far from an isolated case, as many Polish municipalities are now backing down.

In the end, all these sanctions will certainly not be enough to completely eradicate the “free of LGBTQ” resolution as the Polish government is so hostile to people from our community, but they are a useful weapon to curb the phenomenon that could otherwise spread to other neighboring countries.