This weekend, EPPride, the LGBTIQ+ network of the European People’s Party (EPP), gathered in Brussels for its Annual Meeting. During the meeting, the network elected Gerben Horst (CDA Pride Netwerk, the Netherlands) as its new President. Jenni Juulia Tikka (Kasary, Finland) was elected second vice-president. Together with first vice-president Kevin Maas (CD&V Regenboognetwerk, Belgium) and the reappointed Secretary General Fredrik Saweståhl (Öppna Moderater), they form the new Presidency of EPPride.
At the Annual Meeting long serving member of the Presidency and President for the last three years Helge Ytterøy L’orange stepped down from his role. This was highlighted both by EPP Secretary General Dolors Montserrat in person when she visited the meeting and EPP President Manfred Weber in a special video greeting. Incoming President Gerben Horst also profoundly thanked Helge for all his dedicated work in his speech.
Political motions
During the Annual Meeting, EPPride adopted two political motions. The motion “Acceptance among youth”, submitted by the CDA Pride Netwerk, highlights the worrying findings of the 2025 HBSC study (a WHO research programme): only four in ten young people have a positive attitude towards homosexuality, and the proportion of young people who believe that gay and lesbian pupils can be open about their sexual orientation at school fell from 60 to 45 per cent. EPPride fears that this trend is also emerging in other European countries and will gather further information on it in the time ahead, to subsequently urge the EPP and its member parties to take political action on acceptance and school safety.
The motion “Making free movement real for rainbow families” deals with a core value of the Union. Free movement within the EU applies to everyone and must not be withheld from rainbow families and same-sex couples, regardless of the extent to which LGBTIQ+ relationships are recognised in the member states. If you are a parent in one country, your child should not lose you as a parent in another. EPPride calls on the EPP to make this existing principle a reality in practice and to stand up for equal rights for all families and relationships within the European Union.
Meetings in Brussels
At EPP headquarters, EPPride was welcomed by Dolors Montserrat, Secretary-General of the EPP. EPPride also held various meetings, including with Sari Rautio, President of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions, Dr Peter Hefele, Director of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, and with ILGA-Europe. Topics discussed included what regional and local politicians can mean for the daily lives of LGBTIQ+ Europeans, positive and negative trends in the acceptance of LGBTIQ+ people across Europe, and the role EPPride envisages for itself in the coming years in contributing to a Europe in which everyone can be themselves in freedom.
During the stay in Brussels EPPride also visited the Flemish Parliament to learn about Belgian politics and discuss the Belgian approach to LGBTIQ+ inclusivity with members of the parliament from CD&V.