Over 120 civil society organizations call on Romanian authorities to allow Oradea Pride march

More than 120 civil society organizations from 30 countries signed a public letter warning that the city of Oradea, in western Romania, may become, after Budapest, the only city in the EU where authorities repeatedly block the organization of a Pride March for the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community.

The organizations signaled their solidarity with the march organizers, ARK Oradea, and called on local authorities in the city to respect freedom of assembly and ensure the safe organization of the Oradea Pride March, scheduled to take place on July 25.

The open letter comes after the local newspaper Bihoreanul reported that the municipality was preparing to reject all more than 100 route options proposed by the organizers and, possibly, to accept only the holding of an assembly at a fixed location on the outskirts of the city.

“Proposing a simple meeting point cannot replace the right to organize a march and does not represent a real alternative to the exercise of freedom of assembly,” the organizations said in the letter.

Organizations that have joined the appeal addressed to Oradea officials include international groups such as ILGA Europe, EPOA (European Pride Organizers Association), IGLYO, OII Europe – Organization Intersex International Europe, Council for Global Equality, TGEU, and Forbidden Colors, alongside numerous organizers of PRIDE Marches from around the world and dozens of non-governmental organizations and civic groups from Romania.

The signatories pointed out that after four consecutive years in which Pride events were not approved, this can no longer be considered a matter of administrative or logistical difficulties, but rather the deliberate failure to respect a fundamental right.

They warned that Oradea risks becoming, after Budapest, the only city in the European Union where authorities repeatedly block the organization of a Pride March, with consequences including for Romania's image as a state that respects European values.

The organizations call on Oradea City Hall, the Municipal Commission for approving public gatherings, and the other competent institutions to allow the march to take place on a route that ensures the effective exercise of these rights. The letter was sent to the local administration of Oradea, including mayor Florin Birta.

ARK Oradea announced as early as June 25 that it had submitted the notification for the Pride March at "the first legally possible moment," proposing more than 100 routes. The organizers explained that they wanted to eliminate from the outset the administrative arguments invoked by the City Hall in previous years.

In 2025, Oradea City Hall rejected all 11 proposed routes, arguing that seven of them crossed areas affected by urban construction works, while the other four overlapped with locations where other events had already been approved.

During that period, several public spaces in the city had been reserved for ten gatherings organized by bishops, churches, religious communities, and philanthropic associations. 

Despite the refusal, hundreds of people participated last summer in the first Pride March actually held on the city's streets, in the form of an unauthorized protest.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on Facebook) ...