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| - EU leaders holding a summit on Thursday ganged up on Hungary's prime minister over a controversial new law in his country banning LGBT content in schools seen as homophobic and contrary to EU values. Criticisms piled up at the start of the two-day meeting in Brussels, with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte the most strident. "For me, Hungary has no place in the EU anymore" because of the law, he told journalists. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- a socially conservative nationalist who has frequently clashed with EU counterparts -- insisted they misunderstood the legislation. "This is not against homosexuality... It's about the right of the kids and the parents," he said. Leaders from 17 EU countries on Thursday signed on to a letter deploring "threats against fundamental rights, and in particular the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation". It came on the heels of a declaration earlier this week by the same countries, including heavyweights Germany, France, Italy and Spain, raising "grave concerns" over the Hungarian law. The issue pushed to the forefront of EU politics this week when UEFA, Europe's football governing body, rejected a plan by Munich to light up its stadium in rainbow colours for a Germany-Hungary match on Wednesday. Other EU leaders following Orban along the red carpet into the summit were scathing about the legislation. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin saw it "transgressing a fundamental value of the European Union" while Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel called it "unacceptable". A more measured French President Emmanuel Macron was "wary" of demanding another EU country withdraw legislation. "But I will defend our values and I would say that the law... doesn't seem to me in line with our values," he said. Rutte argued that "the long-term aim is to bring Hungary to its knees on this point (on the new law)". The European Commission has said it will challenge the basis of the law, with its President Ursula von der Leyen insisting on Wednesday it "clearly discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation". UN chief Antonio Guterres, who attended the opening of the summit, said of the Hungarian law: "No discrimination is acceptable in any circumstances, and any discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people is totally unacceptable in our modern societies." Orban, though, dismissed the onslaught. He accused EU leaders of not reading the text of the law and said if they raised it with him he would tell them "it's about how a child learns about sexuality... and decisions about that are exclusively the business of parents". Another point of friction in the summit was a surprise push by Germany and France to revive dialogue with Russia by considering holding a summit with President Vladimir Putin. "We will talk about how we can respond to (Russian) provocations and how to maybe create formats for talks," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Macron argued that the EU would be "demanding" in any discussion with Putin "because we will not give up any of our values". But a less-convinced Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said "the Kremlin does not understand this kind of politics," only displays of power. The EU's response to the coronavirus pandemic also featured prominently though with less urgency than in previous months. Merkel said she was "worried about the Delta variant" which was starting to take hold in European Union countries. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said this week that variant would likely be 90 percent of new cases in the EU by the end of August. Merkel said she would press for "an even more coordinated way" in limiting the arrival of people from countries where Delta was dominant. That could impact those wanting to visit Europe from former EU member Britain, which is in the grip of a steeply increasing number of Delta infection cases. bur/rmb/del/ach
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