Commissioner Dalli’s keynote speech focused on her ongoing support for LGBTIQ rights and the European Commission’s commitment to achieve a Union of Equality through the implementation of the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy.

Other speakers included Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner and former Director of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the EU, Michael O’Flaherty, the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Bjørn Berge, as well as Ministers, and other national authorities and representatives of civil society organisations.

Commissioner Dalli also attended the informal Ministerial meeting that concluded with the ministerial declaration “The future of freedom and equality in Europe”, calling for continued support for the work of the EU Commissioner for Equality and the implementation and renewal of the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy. It was signed by 20 EU Member States,  and 12 non-EU countries.

Ms Susanne Knöfel, representative of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission, also participated in a session on sustainable European equality infrastructure, presenting funding opportunities under the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, the Commissioner’s political will and long term vision to support LGBTIQ stakeholders, and the benefits of open dialogue and consultations with empowered civil society organisations.

The Forum encompassed a joint meeting of expert groups of the Council of Europe and the European Commission where all participants presented the latest legal and policy developments in their countries and organisations. The event also included a presentation and a focus group discussion of the three-year Council of Europe project co-funded by the European Commission on combatting anti-LGBTIQ violence and hate speech and strengthening awareness-raising and fact-based narratives about LGBTIQ persons.