ILGA-Europe releases its annual Rainbow Map for 2026, ranking LGBTQ+ rights across Europe and Central Asia based on laws and public policies affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people. Spain is listed as the top country for LGBTQ+ rights for the first time, taking over from Malta, which is described as no longer leading in the region. The report covers 49 countries in Europe and evaluates changes in legislation and related measures. While the ranking shows improvement in some places, multiple outlets stress that the overall picture is mixed. Deutsche Welle notes that activists point to an increasing backlash against LGBTQ+ people alongside the legal rankings. The sources present ILGA-Europe’s assessment as a comparative snapshot of the legal environment, while highlighting that social and political pressures on LGBTQ+ communities can evolve independently of formal scores.