Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe
Debate has occurred throughout Europe over proposals to legalise same-sex marriage as well as same-sex civil unions. Currently 31 of the 50 countries and the 8 dependent territories in Europe recognise some type of same-sex unions, among them most members of the European Union (23/27). As of September 2021, sixteen European countries legally recognise and perform same-sex marriages: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Same-sex marriage will become legal in Switzerland in July 2022, following  a referendum on the issue on 26 September 2021 that passed with 64.1% in favour. An additional thirteen European countries legally recognise some form of civil union, namely Andorra, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, and Slovenia. Poland and Slovakia recognise private contractual cohabitation of two persons (regardless of sexual orientation or relationship type - including non-sexual non-intimate relationships) for limited purposes. Although they do not recognise same-sex unions themselves, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania, are bound by a ruling by the European Court of Justice to recognise same-sex  marriages performed within the EU and including an EU citizen for the purposes of granting legal residence, though this ruling is not always respected in practice, as in the case of Romania which has not implemented the ruling. Of the countries that perform same-sex marriages, some still allow civil unions, e.g. Benelux countries, France and the United Kingdom, whereas Germany, Ireland and Nordic countries have ended their pre-marriage civil union legislation so that existing unions remain but new ones are not possible. Several European countries do not recognise any same-sex unions. Marriage is defined as a union  solely between a man and a woman in the constitutions of Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Of these, however, Croatia, Hungary, and Montenegro recognise same-sex partnerships, while Armenia recognises same-sex marriages performed abroad. Current situation. International level. European Court of Human Rights. Over the years, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has handled cases that challenged the lack of legal recognition of same-sex couples in certain member states. The Court has held that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) requires member states to provide  legal recognition, but does not require marriage to be opened to same-sex couples. In "Schalk and Kopf v Austria" (24 June 2010), the European Court of Human Rights decided that the European Convention on Human Rights does not oblige member states to legislate for or legally recognise same-sex marriages. However, the Court, for the first time, accepted same-sex relationships as a form of "family life". In "Vallianatos and Others v Greece" (7 November 2013), the Court held that exclusion of same-sex couples from registering a civil union, a legal form of partnership available to opposite-sex  couples, violates the convention. Greece had enacted a law in 2008 that established civil unions for opposite-sex couples only. A 2015 law extended partnership rights to same-sex couples. "Oliari and Others v Italy" (21 July 2015) went further and established a positive obligation upon member states to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Italy thus breached the convention; it eventually implemented civil unions in 2016. The decision set a precedent for potential future cases regarding the 23 member states, certain British and Dutch territories, and the states with limited recognition (excluding Kosovo), that currently do not recognise  same-sex couples' right to family life. "Chapin and Charpentier v France" (9 June 2016) largely confirmed "Schalk and Kopf v. Austria", holding that denying a same-sex couple access to marriage does not violate the convention. At the time of the judgment, France did allow same-sex marriage, however, the case originated from 2004, when only pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) was available to same-sex couples in France. European Union. Some debate occurred within the European Union about how to require member states to recognise same-sex marriages conducted in other member states, as well as any European  citizens' civil unions or registered partnerships, so as to ensure the right of freedom of movement for citizens' family members. In 2010, Romanian LGBT activist Adrian Coman and his American partner, Robert Claibourn Hamilton, married in Belgium, and subsequently attempted to relocate to Romania. Romanian authorities refused to recognise their marriage and the case progressed to the European Court of Justice. On 11 January 2018, the ECJ's advocate general, Melchior Wathelet, issued an official legal opinion stating that an EU member country cannot refuse residency rights to the same-sex spouse of an EU citizen on the grounds  that it does not recognise same-sex marriage. On 5 June 2018, the ECJ ruled in Coman's favour, stating the term "spouse" was gender-neutral, and member states are therefore obliged to recognise EU residency rights for partners of EU citizens. However, the court confirmed that it will still be up to member states whether to authorise same-sex marriage. According to research from the European Parliament, some EU states still do not in practice grant residency to same-sex spouses, as required by "Coman v. Romania". As of September 2021, Hamilton himself has not been granted residency by  the Romanian government, despite the ruling. In September 2021, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning some states failure to implement the ruling, and calling on the European Commission to ensure rights of same-sex spouses are upheld. Future legislation. Marriage. Government proposals or proposals with a parliamentary majority. Andorra: On 10 March 2020, the three parties forming the governing coalition, the Democrats, the Liberal Party and Committed Citizens, presented the draft of a bill to legalise same-sex marriage. After consultation with the Bar Association and the Superior Council of Justice (CSJ), the bill was introduced to the General  Council on 24 November 2020. The bill was under public consultation until 13 April 2022, and is expected to pass before the 2022 summer break of the General Council. Opposition proposals. Italy: On 31 March 2022, Senator Alessandra Maiorino of the 5-star movement introduced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Non-marital partnership. Government proposals or proposals with a parliamentary majority. Bosnia and Herzegovina: In October 2018, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced the formation of a working group to examine the legal status of same-sex couples in the Federation, with the ultimate  goal of proposing a legal solution for same-sex civil unions. The working group was established in January 2020 and was due to start working in April 2020, but the start was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Public opinion. Public support for same-sex marriage from EU member states as measured from a 2015 poll is the greatest in the Netherlands (91%), Sweden (90%), Denmark (87%), Spain (84%), Ireland (80%), Belgium (77%), Luxembourg (75%), the United Kingdom (71%) and France (71%). In recent years, support has risen most significantly in Malta, from 18% in 2006 to 65% in 2015  and in Ireland from 41% in 2006 to 80% in 2015. After the approval of same-sex marriage in Portugal in January 2010, 52% of the Portuguese population stated that they were in favor of the legislation. In 2008, 58% of the Norwegian voters supported same-sex marriage, which was introduced in the same year, and 31 percent were against it. In January 2013, 54.1% of Italians respondents supported same-sex marriage. In a late January 2013 survey, 77.2% of Italians respondents supported the recognition of same-sex unions. According to an Ipsos poll published in 2021, 83% of Italians  were in favour of legal recognition for same-sex couples, 10% stated they were against and 7% didn't have a specific position on the issue. 59% of surveyed Italians stated they were in favour of same-sex couples jointly adopting children, while 36% were opposed. In Greece, support more than tripled between 2006 and 2017. In 2006, 15% of Greeks said that they agreed with same-sex marriage being allowed throughout Europe, rising to 50.04% by 2017. A survey in 2020 indicated that 56% of the Greek population accept same-sex marriage. In Ireland, a 2008 survey revealed 84 % of people supported civil unions for same-sex couples (and 58% for same-sex marriage), while a 2010 survey showed 67% supported same-sex marriage by 2012 this figure had risen to 73% in support. On 22 May 2015, 62.1% of the electorate voted to enshrine same-sex marriage in the Irish constitution as equal to heterosexual marriage. In Croatia, a poll conducted in November 2013 revealed that 59% of Croats think that marriage should be constitutionally defined as a union between a man and a woman, while 31% do not agree with the idea. In Poland, support for same  sex marriages has increased from 17% in 2006 to 45% in 2019, according to Eurobarometer; other polls show a majority supporting registered partnerships. In the European Union, support tends to be the lowest in Bulgaria, Latvia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Lithuania. The average percentage of support for same-sex marriage in the European Union as of 2006 when it had 25 members was 44%, which had descended from a previous percentage of 53%. The change was caused by more socially conservative nations joining the EU. In 2015, with 28 members, average support was at 61%. Recognition of same-sex unions