GREECE: Government Declares Plan To Enact Civil Partnerships Law

ILGA-Europe reports:

The Greek government has signaled its intention to legislate for civil partnership rights for all couples, almost 18 months after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Greece must widen its civil partnership law to include same sex couples. This announcement is very encouraging and ILGA-Europe are pleased to see that Greece is finally taking steps to implement the ECtHR’s decision, handed down in November 2013. It is also indicative of the equality progress being made in the region as the Cypriot government approved a long-awaited civil partnership bill in early May 2015. Malta has also blazed a trail for equality measures in recent months, legalising civil unions for all couples in addition to its advances on legal gender recognition and constitutional protection from discrimination.

RELATED: The European Union currently has 28 members. Same-sex marriage is legal in twelve of them: Belgium, Denmark, Finland (effective 2017), France, Ireland (effective September 2015) Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia (effective date pending), Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland.)  Civil unions are legal in seven EU nations: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia (effective 2016), Germany, Hungary, and Malta. No partnership recognitions exist in nine EU nations: Bulgaria, Cyprus*, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. [*A civil unions bill advanced in Cyprus in late April.]