"LGBT rights in European Union | |
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""![]() European Union
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"Same-sex sexual activity legal status | Never criminalised in EU law. Last state criminalisation repealed in 1998. |
"Military service | Allowed to serve openly in every state except Cyprus. |
"Discrimination protections | Outlawed in employment with further protections in some member states' law |
Family rights | |
"Recognition of relationships |
Same-sex marriage in 14/28 states Recognition of same-sex unions in 23/28 states No recognition of same-sex couples in 5/28 states |
Restrictions:
|
Same-sex marriage constitutional ban in 7/28 states. |
"Adoption | Joint adoption in 14/28 states Step-child adoption in 18/28 states |
LGBT rights in the European Union are protected under the "European Union's (EU) "treaties and "law. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in all "EU states and discrimination in employment has been banned since 2000. However EU states have different laws when it comes to any greater protection, "same-sex civil union, "same-sex marriage and "adoption by same-sex couples.
The "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union makes in Articles 10 and 19 provisions for combating discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. These provisions were enacted by the "Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999.[1][2]
Furthermore, Article 21 of the "Charter of Fundamental Rights asserts that "any discrimination based on any ground such as [...] sexual orientation shall be prohibited." The Charter was agreed in 2000 and became legally binding in 2009.[1][2][3]
Following the inclusion of the Treaty of Amsterdam's abovementioned provisions, the "directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation was enacted in 2000. This "framework directive compelled all EU states to adopt, within three years, anti-discrimination legislation in employment. That legislation had to include provisions to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[2]
In practice, this protects EU citizens from being refused a job, or from being fired, because of their sexual orientation. It also protects them from being harassed by a colleague due to their sexual orientation. It does not cover being refused medical services or treatment, refusal of being given a double room in a hotel, protection from bullying in a school and refusal of social security schemes (e.g. survivors’ pensions and financial assistance to carers). Protection under EU law in these circumstances is however granted on the grounds of race or gender.[4]
A proposed European "anti-discrimination law would outlaw discrimination in the areas of social protection, social advantages, education and access to supply of goods, on the basis of religious belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation.[5] However the directive has been stalled in the "Council, despite strong support from the "European Parliament.[6]
EU law currently takes a different approach to transgender issues. Despite the European Parliament adopting a resolution on transsexuals’ rights as early as 1989, transgender identity is not incorporated into any EU funding and was not mentioned in the law establishing the "European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) as sexual orientation was. However, the "case law of the "European Court of Justice provides some protection by interpreting discrimination on the basis of 'sex' to also refer to people who have had '"gender reassignment'. Thus all EU sex discrimination law applies to transgender people.[2] In 2002, the "1976 equal treatment directive was revised to include discrimination based on "gender identity, to reflect case law on the directive.[7]
Between 2001 and 2006, a Community Action Programme to Combat Discrimination involved the expenditure of €100 million to fight discrimination in a number of areas, including sexual orientation.[7]
In 2009 the "European Commission has acted to tone down a law in Lithuania that included homophobic language and also aimed to support the "gay pride parade in the country and others under threat of banning.[2]
In June 2010, the "Council of the European Union adopted a non-binding toolkit to promote LGBT people's human rights.[8][9]
In June 2013, the Council upgraded it to binding LGBTI Guidelines instructing EU diplomats around the world "to defend the human rights of LGBTI people.[10][11]
Same-sex marriage has been legalised in "Belgium, "Denmark, "Finland, "France, "Germany, "Ireland, "Luxembourg, "Malta, the "Netherlands, "Portugal, "Spain, "Sweden and "Great Britain. In "Austria, marriages will be legal from 1 January 2019.[12] Same-sex civil unions have been legalised in Austria, Belgium, "Croatia, "Cyprus, "Czechia, "Estonia, Finland, France, "Greece, "Hungary, Ireland, "Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, "Slovenia and the United Kingdom. In Denmark and Sweden civil unions were legal from 1989 and 1995 to 2012 and 2009, respectively. In Germany, registered life partnerships were legal between 2001 and 2017. However existing civil unions/registered life partnerships are still recognised in all of these countries.
Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia have constitutionally defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.
European Union law (the "Citizens’ Rights Directive 2004/38/EC) requires those member states that legalised same-sex partnerships to recognise each other's partnerships for the purpose of freedom of movement.[13] The European Parliament has however approved a report calling for mutual recognition.[14][15]
According to "European Court of Justice case law based on the "Employment Equality Framework Directive, employees in a civil partnership with a same-sex partner must be granted the same benefits as those granted to their colleagues upon their marriage, where marriage is not possible for same-sex couples. The Court established this principle in 2008 in the case of Tadao Maruko v. Versorgungsanstalt der deutschen Bühnen with regards to a German "registered life partnership. In December 2013, the Court confirmed this in the case of Frédéric Hay v. Crédit agricole mutuel (C-267/12) with regards to a French "civil solidarity pact, which is significantly inferior to marriage than a German registered life partnership.[16][17]
As of 2017, the European Court of Justice is deliberating in the case of Coman and Others whether "spouse" (or partner or any other family member) in the "Free Movement Directive (2004/38/EC) includes a (foreign) same-sex spouse, and whether it requires member states to confer the right of residence on the (foreign) same-sex spouse of a citizen of the European Union.[18]
Openly gay people are "allowed to serve in the military of every country except Cyprus["citation needed], however this is contrary to European law and is rarely enforced.
Since December 2016, "Malta became the "first and only country in the EU - as well as in Europe - to ban conversion therapy.[19][20][21]
LGBT rights in: | Unregistered cohabitation | Civil union | Marriage | Adoption | Anti-discrimination laws | Hate crime/speech laws |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"![]() |
Yes (Since 2003)[22] | Yes (Registered Partnership since 2010)[23] | Yes (Court order legalises same-sex marriage from 1/1/2019[24])[25][26] | Yes (Since 2016)[27] | All[28] | Yes[28] |
"![]() |
No | Yes (Legal Cohabitation since 2000)[29] | Yes (Since 2003)[30] | Yes (Since 2006)[31] | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() |
No | No | Constitutional ban[32] | No | All[28] | No |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 2003)[33][34] | Yes (Life Partnership since 2014)[34] | Constitutional ban[35] | De facto step-child adoption, through partner-guardianship since 2014 | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() |
No | Yes (Civil Cohabitation since 2015) [36] | No | No | All[37] | Yes[38] |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 2001)[39] | Yes (Registered Partnership since 2006)[40] | No | No (Step-child adoption pending)[41] | All | No |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 1986) [42] |
Registered Partnership from 1989 to 2012; certain partnerships are still recognised | Yes (Since 2012)[43] | Yes (Since 2010)[44] | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() |
No | Yes (Cohabitation Agreement since 2016)[45] | Recognition of marriage celebrated abroad since 2016[46] | Step-child adoption since 2016 | All[28] | Yes[28] |
"![]() |
No | Yes (Registered Partnership since 2002)[47] | Yes (Since 2017)[48] | Yes (Since 2017) | All[28] | Yes[28] |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 1999)[49] | Yes (Civil Solidarity Pact since 1999)[49] | Yes (Since 2013)[50] | Yes (Since 2013) | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() |
No | Registered Partnership from 2001 to 2017; certain partnerships are still recognised[51] | Yes (Since 2017)[52] | Yes (Since 2017)[53][51] | Some["vague][28] | No |
"![]() |
No | Yes (Cohabitation agreement since 2015)[54] | No | No | All | Yes |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 1996)[55][56] | Yes (Registered Partnership since 2009)[57] | No (Pending)[58][59] Constitutional ban |
No (Pending) | All[28] | Yes[28] |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 2011)[60] | Civil Partnership from 2011 to 2015; certain partnerships are still recognised[60] | Yes (since 2015)[61] | Yes ("Since 2015) | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() |
Yes (since 2016)[62] | Yes (Civil Union since 2016)[63] | Marriage performed abroad admitted by the Court of Cassation[64][65] | Stepchild adoption admitted by the Court of Cassation[66] | Some["vague] | No |
"![]() |
No | No | Constitutional ban[67] | No | Some["vague] | No |
"![]() |
No | No | Constitutional ban[68] | No | All[28] | Yes[28] |
"![]() |
No | Yes (Registered Partnership since 2004)[69] | Yes (Since 2015)[70] | Yes (Since 2015) | All[71] | Yes[72] |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 2017)[73] | Yes (Civil Union since 2014)[74] | Yes (Since 2017)[75] | Yes (Since 2014)[74] | All[76] | Yes[28] |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 1979)[77] | Yes (Registered Partnership since 1998)[78] | Yes (Since 2001)[79] | Yes | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 2012)[80] | No | Constitutional ban[81] | No | Some["vague] | No |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 2001)[82] | Yes | Yes (Since 2010)[83] | Yes (Since 2016) | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() |
No | No | No | No | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() |
No | No | Constitutional ban[84] | No | All[28] | Yes[85] |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 2017)[86] | Yes (Registered Partnership since 2006)[87] | No | Step-child adoption since 2011 | All[28] | Yes[28] |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 1995)[88][89] | (In 16 out of 17 regions and both autonomous cities) | Yes (Since 2005)[90] | Yes | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() |
Yes (Since 1988)[91][92][93] | Registered Partnership from 1995 to 2009; certain partnerships are still recognised[94] | Yes (Since 2009)[95] | Yes (Since 2002)[96] | All[28] | Yes |
"![]() ![]() |
Scotland only since 2006[97][98] | Yes (Civil Partnership all of UK since 2005; in Gibraltar since 2014)[99][100] | Yes (Since 2014 in England & Wales, and Scotland and since 2016 in Gibraltar)[101][102][103][104][105] No (Northern Ireland)[106] |
Yes (Since 2005 in England and Wales,[107] since 2009 in Scotland,[108] since 2013 in Northern Ireland[109] and since 2014 in Gibraltar[110][111]) | All[28][112] | Yes |
Due to the "Cyprus dispute placing "Northern Cyprus outside the Republic of Cyprus' control, EU law is suspended in the area governed by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
LGBT rights in: | Civil union | Marriage | Adoption | Anti-discrimination laws | Hate crime/speech laws |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"![]() |
No | No | No | All | Yes |
Below is the share of respondents per country who agreed with the following statements in the 2015 Special Eurobarometer on discrimination.[113] The last column is the change from the 2006 Eurobarometer where respondents were presented the slightly different statement "Homosexual marriages should be allowed throughout Europe".[114]
Member state | "Gay and lesbian people should have the same rights as heterosexual people" |
"There is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex" |
"Same sex marriages should be allowed throughout Europe" |
Change from 2006 on last statement |
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71% | 67% | 61% | +17 |
![]() |
70% | 67% | 62% | +13 |
![]() |
81% | 82% | 77% | +15 |
![]() |
51% | 27% | 17% | +2 |
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48% | 39% | 37% | n/a[115] |
![]() |
62% | 40% | 37% | +23 |
![]() |
62% | 60% | 57% | +5 |
![]() |
90% | 88% | 87% | +18 |
![]() |
44% | 40% | 31% | +10 |
![]() |
74% | 71% | 66% | +21 |
![]() |
81% | 83% | 71% | +23 |
![]() |
70% | 74% | 66% | +14 |
![]() |
62% | 42% | 33% | +18 |
![]() |
49% | 44% | 39% | +21 |
![]() |
87% | 82% | 80% | +39 |
![]() |
72% | 61% | 55% | +24 |
![]() |
42% | 23% | 19% | +7 |
![]() |
44% | 30% | 24% | +7 |
![]() |
75% | 80% | 75% | +17 |
![]() |
77% | 71% | 65% | +47 |
![]() |
96% | 91% | 91% | +9 |
![]() |
37% | 37% | 28% | +11 |
![]() |
71% | 59% | 61% | +32 |
![]() |
36% | 24% | 21% | +10 |
![]() |
36% | 33% | 24% | +5 |
![]() |
54% | 55% | 54% | +23 |
![]() |
90% | 87% | 84% | +28 |
![]() |
95% | 93% | 90% | +19 |
![]() |
84% | 75% | 71% | +25 |
Matrimony shall be a free union between a man and a woman.