Same-sex relationship

 The visit is considered highly symbolic as it comes after the turmoil caused by the bill on civil marriage of same-sex couples

Twenty-eight foreign embassies accredited to Greece have jointly issued a statement applauding the enactment of legislation granting equal marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage under civil law. At least for the near future, it will almost certainly be the only one.

Marriage equality was a matter of debate as early as 1960 in the Netherlands. It became law in 2001. At the time, the country was the first in the world to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. "Some people had predicted that society would fall apart and family values would suffer. None of that has happened," the Dutch ambassador to Greece, Susanna Terstal, tells Kathimerini.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that a bill granting same-sex couples equal rights in marriage would make their families "visible."

The reform extends full parental rights to gay couples but will not allow for medically assisted reproduction through a surrogate. The vote is expected later Thursday.

Lawmakers begin a debate Wednesday on a landmark bill to legalize same-sex marriage that would make Greece the first Orthodox Christian country to do so.

The Valentine's Day session in parliament follows vocal opposition and protests from the church but also a shift in public opinion which - while still divided - is narrowly supportive of the reform.

Ahead of the government's submission of a bill on same-sex marriage to Parliament, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece sent a letter to 300 MPs reiterating its opposition, stressing the damage it will wreak on the institution of the family and children.

Ljubljana – The Constitutional Court legalised same-sex marriage and adoptions with immediate effect after finding a law under which only heterosexual partners can marry and same-sex couples cannot adopt children to be in contravention of the constitutional ban on discrimination.

Respecting the COVID-19 health measures, all participants will need to present a vaccine certificate or a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours, or a negative antigen test not older than 48 hours, or confirmation of recovery from COVID not older than six months and not more recent than 14 days.

The Constitutional Court of Ecuador announced yesterday that it approves same-sex marriages, said France Press. The country's 2008 constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, the agency recalls.