The pledge asks candidates to commit to harness the power of their parliamentary position to strengthen protection in EU law and policy, enable an environment for LGBTI human rights defenders, be an ally to under-represented voices and ensure EU leadership on LGBTI rights.

At the time of writing, the pledge had been signed by all 6 candidates from déi Lénk--Carole Thoma, Mara Martins, Sandrine Gashonga, David Wagner, Antoni Montserrat Moliner and Gary Diderich. LSAP candidates Marc Angel, Joanne Goebbels, Lisa Kersch and Simone Asselborn-Bintz have also signed. In addition, 3 candidates--Fiona Godfrey, Daniel Silva and Julia Elisabetta Pitterman--had signed from Volt Europa.

ILGA-Europe, the non-governmental umbrella organisation which launched the pledge, said the reason for the campaign was that “the very core values on which the EU is founded…are being called into question”. Its executive director, Evelyne Paradis, added: “While the legal and policy situation for LGBTI people has progressed in some areas of Europe, backlash and backsliding have occurred in others--largely as a result of stagnation.”

There are 6 seats up for grabs for Luxembourg in the upcoming European elections, which takes place every five years. As voting is compulsory in Luxembourg, any EU citizen who is registered to vote will already be on the electoral roll and therefore must vote in the elections on Sunday 26 May.

Follow the Come Out pledge through the designated hashtag #ComeOut4EU, or by visiting its homepage.