From the BBC:
"Same-sex spouses have EU residence rights, top court rules"
"Same-sex spouses have EU residence rights, top court rules"
The European Union's top court has ruled in favour of a Romanian gay man's right to have his US husband live with him in Romania. The country, which does not recognise same-sex marriage, had argued that the American was not entitled to the EU residency rights awarded to spouses. But the European Court of Justice said the term "spouse" was gender neutral. Adrian Coman and his American partner Clai Hamilton were married in Brussels in 2010. Following the judgment on Tuesday, Mr Coman said: "We can now look in the eyes of any public official in Romania and across the EU with certainty that our relationship is equally valuable and equally relevant. "We are grateful to the EU Court and to the many people and institutions who have supported us, and through us, other same-sex couples in a similar situation," he said, adding: "It is human dignity that wins today." The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday that member states should recognise gay marriages contracted in fellow EU states, and grant couples the same residency rights that other families enjoy. "Although the member states have the freedom whether or not to authorise marriage between persons of the same sex, they may not obstruct the freedom of residence of an EU citizen by refusing to grant his same-sex spouse, a national of a country that is not an EU Member State, a derived right of residence in their territory," the court said.
Where does Europe stand on same-sex unions?
- Same-sex marriage is legal in these EU states: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK (excluding Northern Ireland) and Malta
- Registered partnerships (with similar rights to marriage): Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia
- Registered partnership (limited rights): Czech Republic, Estonia
- No legislation: Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
^ A marriage preformed in any of the EU member states (where at least one of the couple is an EU citizen) has to be legal in every EU member country. ^
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