ILGA-Europe welcomes this debate by the Members of the European Parliament which is important given that married and registered same-sex couples in the EU are still subjected to various discriminations when they avail themselves of the right to freedom of movement within the EU.

In 2004, the European Union adopted a Directive on the right to free movement which encourages EU member states to facilitate the entry and residence for married and/or registered partners. This Directive provides for equal treatment of different-sex and same-sex partners as does not refer to the gender of the partners. However, since the Directive does not specify that Member States are obliged to recognise the civil status of same-sex partners, many same-sex couples effectively have their marriages and registered partnerships de facto voided when they exercise their rights to freedom of movement to countries that do not have an equivalent institution to their civil status.

Yesterday’s debate dealt with the above issues and MEPs have highlighted a list of discriminations that same-sex families experience, including: gaps in social security and survivor’s pension; non-recognition of partner’s choice in medical care; non-recognition of marriages and civil status; and stripping of parental ties from non-biological children.

The response of the Commission was that the legislation is already tackling discrimination and providing for just recognition, and that matters of legislation around the recognition of same-sex partners is a domestic issue for the Member States to resolve. While ILGA-Europe recognises that the principle of subsidiary applies on matters the recognition or otherwise of same-sex families, we cannot agree with the Commission that Freedom of Movement Directive is already tackling the gaps that the MEPs highlighted. Many same-sex partners are in fact opting not to travel and reside in a number of EU countries due to the implications that non-recognition of their marriages / registered partnerships has on their lives.

ILGA-Europe therefore calls upon the Commissioner Reding to take political leadership on this issue and to ensure that the European Commission is guided by the fundamental principle of freedom of movement enshrined in the EC Treaty and initiate actions requiring EU Member States to mutually recognise each other marriages and partnerships between the persons of the same sex. Only legally binding mutual recognition of such marriages and partnerships will ensure that the fundamental EU principle of freedom of movement will be fully applied to married or in civil partnership same-sex couples.

8 September 2010

Brussels

1. Video recording and transcript of the debate is available on the European parliament’s website. Please scroll down and click on + sign next to 22:48:20>23:46:35 Discrimination of same-sex married or in civil-partnership couples (debate)

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sed/speeches.do?sessionDate=20100907

2. More information about the 2004 Directive on freedom of movement and ILGA-Europe’s guidelines to its implementation is available on our website:

http://www.ilga-europe.org/home/publications/reports_and_other_materials/lesbian_gay_bisexual_and_transgender_families_and_the_free_movement_directive_implementation_guidelines_january_2009