The European Union wants to clamp down on "conversion therapy" targeting LGBTQ people, the bloc's equality chief told AFP on Tuesday, but Brussels will stop short of introducing a ban on such practices.

More than a million people signed a petition in May calling on the EU to prohibit "conversion" practices.

"We can't (ban) because that would be stepping on member states' competence," said the EU commissioner in charge of equality issues, Hadja Lahbib.

Lahbib, due to unveil a plan to tackle discrimination against the LGBTQ community on Wednesday, has however vowed to launch a data collection effort across the 27 EU countries to combat these practices.

"We are going to gather all the data we have on these practices, which are often disguised as psychological support," she said.

So-calle

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