EU home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom announced that Europe is ‘too cowardly’ to fight against mounting homophobia, EU observer reports.

“I must say that what is going on now, in recent years, makes me quite scared. We hear ... homophobic speeches and reports of violence against LGBT people. What we are witnessing is not a society [moving] towards openness and tolerance. It is rather the opposite,” she announced at an event in Brussels on Tuesday on the eve of the international day against homophobia on May 17.

Malmstrom spoke at a meeting organized by Ilga Europe, a Brussels-based NGO fighting for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people.

During the event Ilga Europe's annual report on the LGBT rights in Europe was published.

The survey looks at 42 legal criteria and covers 49 European countries.

“Great progress was achieved ... particularly in the fields of asylum and protection from violence,” the survey reads.

It is also added that in some countries either there is no progress or it is worse.

It is also stated in the survey that no European country can provide for full legal equality for LGBTI people.

The UK was judged the most gay-friendly European country, scoring 21 points on a scale from -12 to 30. It was followed by Germany (20), Spain (20), Sweden (18) and Belgium (17). The worst country was Moldova (-4.5), followed by Russia (-4.5), Armenia (-4), Azerbaijan (-4), Macedonia (-4) and Ukraine (-4).