evidence: Italy was among nine EU countries that did not sign a declaration promoting European policies in favor of LGBT+ communities, sparking widespread protests within the country while the government described it as "unbalanced". [...] Alongside Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, Italy opted out of endorsing the document, which aims to protect LGBTQ+ rights and combat discrimination. [...] Over the weekend, Family Minister Eugenia Roccella defended the government’s position in an interview with Il Messaggero, stating that the document was "very unbalanced".