Europe has long been on the forefront of democratic and freedom movements. Most of the now internationally accepted human rights were first conceived, fought for and accepted in European states. One of the brightest examples of regional integration and human right equalization has been the creation of the European Union. First of its kind, this union has paved the road for future transnational cooperation, peace and prosperity.

Another issue that is closely related to the topic of freedom and that has been on the agenda in many European nations has been the public discussion about same-sex marriages. Currently, 21 out of 51 European states recognize some kind of form of same-sex unions. The majority of them also belong to the European Union.

Such partnerships take four forms within Europe: legal same-sex marriage, civil union or registered partnership, unregistered cohabitation and non-recognition. Seven European governments recognize and legalize same-sex marriages. Those are the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Spain and Portugal. The first country to do so was the Netherlands in 2001 and the most recent addition was made by Portugal in June 2010.

Other 14 countries have a variety of civil union that is not equal to marriage but is a kind of registered partnership or cohabitation. Others such as Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, Finland and Slovenia are currently carrying out public debates about the legalization of this practice.

In some nations constitutional amendments must be made in order to be able to make changes in the current legislations. It countries like Belarus, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia and Ukraine it is specifically stated in the constitution that a marriage is a legal union between a man and a woman.Car Hire Cryprus

Research into the general audience’s attitude towards this matter has been conducted. According to it the issue is supported most positively in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. The most negative towards this issue are the post-socialist states in the Eastern part of Europe- Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
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