THE European Union has been declared an LGBT “freedom zone” in what is seen as a rebuke to Poland and Hungary, where a growing number of regions have opposed the notion of equality.

The vote by MEPs on Thursday came about two years after Pulawy became the first municipality in Poland to declare itself an “LGBTIQ-free zone.”

More than 100 Polish regions have followed suit, cutting financial support to organisations promoting equality and discouraging support for members of the LGBT community.

A number of Hungarian localities have adopted similar motions, opposing the “ideology of equality” when it comes to sexual orientation or identity.

MEPs said in the text of the motion that anybody “in the EU should enjoy the freedom to live and publicly show their sexual orientation and gender identity without fear of intolerance, discrimination or persecution.”

“Authorities at all levels of governance across the EU should protect and promote equality and the fundamental rights of all, including LGBTIQ persons,” it added.

Speaking ahead of the vote German Green MEP Terry Reintke said: “You call us lunatics. You call us an irrelevant minority. You call us perverts. You call us an ideology. When all we ask for is equality.

“You scapegoat our communities when all we ask for is safety. You attack our families. You tell people we are a threat. You deny us the right to be who we want to be when all we ask is freedom. But we will not give up just because you keep attacking us.

“This declaration might only be a first step. We know our lives are still in danger, our rights restricted, our freedoms brutally suffocated in far too many places in the European union. But it is a step. We are many, we are everywhere and we are strong.”