Macron calls for "cultural battle of civilisations" over LGBT rights in Poland and Hungary

"We need to try and work out how a countries can arrive at this situation. We need to wage a cultural battle, a battle of civilisations", Macron told a news conference after a summit of EU leaders.

Referring to the case of Hungary, Macron said the country should remain a member of the EU.

He expressed concern at what he called the rise of illiberal conservatism within some member states which he said was eroding the bloc's values.

"To fight against homophobic laws is to defend individual freedoms and human dignity," he said.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that though a new Hungarian law on the promotion of homosexuality went against European values, the country's place remained within the EU.

"There are 10 million people living in Hungary and I am deeply convinced that there are 10 million good reasons for Hungary to be in, and remain a part of Europe," von der Leyen told a news conference after the summit wrapped up on Friday.

During an impassioned debate on Thursday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had told Hungarian leader Viktor Orban that if he didn't agree with European values of equality he should quit the bloc.

"I said 'Stop this, you must withdraw the law and, if you don't like that and really say that the European values are not your values, then you must think about whether to remain in the European Union'," Rutte told reporters on Friday.

"It was really forceful, a deep feeling that this could not be. It was about our values; this is what we stand for," he added.

"It was a difficult debate, it was a sometimes tough debate, but it was also a necessary one," Council President Charles Michel, who chaired the meeting, said.

Unless it rows back, Hungary faces a legal challenge at the EU's highest court. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said Orban should also be subject to an as-yet untested procedure to cut EU funding for those who violate rules.

The new mechanism was introduced as closely aligned conservative governments in Poland and Hungary have shielded one another for years from sanctions under existing measures to protect EU democratic and human rights values.

The provisions for schools have been included in a law primarily aimed at protecting children from paedophiles, a link that Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described as "primitive".

Orban, who has been Hungary's prime minister since 2010 and faces an election next year, has become more conservative and combative in promoting what he says are traditional Catholic values under pressure from the liberal West.

Describing himself as a "freedom fighter", Orban told reporters before the meeting that the law was not an attack on gay people but aimed at guaranteeing parents' right to decide on their children's sexual education.

The EU is pushing Orban to repeal the law - the latest in a string of restrictive policies towards media, judges, academics and migrants.

Seventeen of the 27 EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, signed a joint letter reaffirming their commitment to protecting gay rights.

"We all made it very clear which fundamental values we adhere to," Merkel said.

She said she shared Macron's assessment that some EU countries have "very different ideas" about Europe.

Bettel, who is openly gay, said the only country other than Poland to support Orban in the discussion was Slovenia, whose prime minister has also been accused of undermining the independence of the media.

Bettel said it was time for Brussels to test its new procedure: "Most of the time, money is more convincing than talk."