Homophobia and Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation ...

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights2.3. A same-sex registered partner of the citizen of theUnion seeks to join him or her in another EU MemberStateIn the second situation – where the same-sex couple has formed a registeredpartnership in their State of origin –, there should normally be no difficulty either if thehost State allows same-sex couples to marry, or if in its domestic law, it has a regime ofregistered partnerships which is equivalent to marriage. Although the Free MovementDirective explicitly mentions only the latter case, it would be clearly unacceptable for aState not to allow family reunification of a same-sex registered partnership under thepretext that that State allows gays <strong>and</strong> lesbians to marry persons of the same-sex,instead of having created an institution specific to them. Where the host Member Stateneither authorises same-sex marriage nor has a form of registered partnershipequivalent to marriage under domestic law, it is not obliged to grant an automatic right ofentry <strong>and</strong> residence. 109Six Member States have established forms of registered partnership in their domesticlegislation with effects equivalent to marriage – i.e., with consequences identical to thoseof marriage with the exception of the rules concerning filiation <strong>and</strong> adoption. Thisincludes CZ, DK, FI, SE, <strong>and</strong> the UK (civil partnership), but also HU, although thepartnership introduced in Hungarian legislation will only enter in force in 2009. TheseStates must recognise registered partnerships concluded in another Member State forthe purposes of family reunification with a citizen of the Union. BE, ES, <strong>and</strong> the NL –although BE has no ‘registered partnership’ in its legislation, but only a weak form of‘legal cohabitation’ – should also be added bringing the Member States, whereregistered partners may fully exercise their free movement rights, because they allowsame-sex marriage to nine.In 14 other Member States there is no registered partnership in domestic legislation: inthese States, the registered partner of a citizen of the Union is therefore not grantedautomatic rights of entry <strong>and</strong> residence (BG, EE, EL, IE, IT, CY, LV, LT, MT, AT, PL, PT,RO <strong>and</strong> SK). One of these States – Austria – might shortly join the first group, as oneparty of the governing coalition unveiled plans to introduce registered partnerships. Twoother States of this group plan to introduce registered partnerships, but reserve themexclusively to opposite-sex couples (EL <strong>and</strong> LT). The question is whether, following theintroduction of such legislation, they would be obliged to recognise same-sex registeredpartnerships concluded abroad, when their own legislation excludes same-sex couples109The Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament confirms this in its response of 3 July 2006 topetition 0724/2005 (‘a Member State which does not recognise registered partnerships under its ownlaw will not be required to automatically grant partners registered in another Member State the right ofresidence as family members’).68