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Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage |
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Same-sex marriage has been legal inGreece since 16 February 2024. In July 2023, Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis, head of the re-electedNew Democracy party, announced hisgovernment's intention to legalise same-sex marriage.[1][2][3] Its legalisation was part of an action plan for LGBT equality,[4] which was drafted by a special committee appointed by Mitsotakis in 2021.[5] Legislation was introduced to theHellenic Parliament on 1 February 2024 and passed on 15 February by 176 votes to 76.[6][7] The bill was signed into law byPresidentKaterina Sakellaropoulou and took effect upon publication in theGovernment Gazette on 16 February.[8] Polling suggests that a majority ofGreeks support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.[9][10] Greece was the 16th member state of theEuropean Union, the 21st country inEurope, and the36th in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry.
Legislation recognizingcohabitation agreements, providing same-sex couples with some of the rights and benefits of marriage, was approved by the Hellenic Parliament on 23 December 2015 and published in theGovernment Gazette the following day.
TheGovernment of Greece under Prime MinisterKostas Karamanlis, which governed until October 2009, was opposed tosame-sex marriage. TheNew Democracy-led government had proposed legislation that would offer several rights to unmarried couples, but only to opposite-sex couples. If introduced, the law was expected to be declared unconstitutional or againstCouncil of Europe principles if brought to Greek or European courts.[11] ThePanhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) underGeorge Papandreou, then in opposition, presented a legislative proposal in April 2006 for the recognition of unmarried couples, same-sex and opposite-sex, following the French example of thecivil solidarity pact. However, according to some LGBT groups, the terminology of the proposal did little to advanceLGBT rights, and it also banned same-sex couples fromadopting. In November 2008, PASOK again submitted a draft law oncohabitation agreements, but it made no progress in Parliament.[12] Responding to government proposals in 2008 to introduce legal rights for cohabiting couples,ArchbishopIeronymos II of Athens, Primate of theChurch of Greece, suggested that "[t]here is a need to change with the time". It was unclear, however, whether this view applied to same-sex couples, particularly as the Church has previously opposed LGBT rights in general andcivil union laws in particular.[13]
Law 3719/2008 ("Reforms concerning the family, children and society"), which entered into force on 26 November 2008, established a form of partnership known as "cohabitation agreements" (Greek:σύμφωνο συμβίωσης,sýmfono symbíosis,pronounced[ˈsimfonosimˈvi.osis]), but only available to opposite-sex couples.
Before theOctober 2009 legislative election, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement announced its support for same-sex registered partnerships in a reply to a questionnaire sent by the Lesbian & Gay Community of Greece (OLKE;Ομοφυλοφιλική Λεσβιακή Κοινότητα Ελλάδας,Omofylofilikí Lesviakí Koinótita Elládas), an LGBT rights organization. PASOK won a majority of seats in Parliament in that election.[14] On 17 September 2010, Minister of JusticeHaris Kastanidis announced that a special committee had been formed to prepare a registered partnership law that would include both same-sex and different-sex couples.[15][16] The committee was constituted on 29 July 2010 and, according to its members, its work was to make proposals regarding the modernization of family law. It discussed matters regarding heterosexual couples until the end of 2010, and matters regarding same-sex couples from January 2011 onwards.[17] On 19 August 2011, a government official announced that legislation recognizing same-sex relationships would be introduced "soon".[18] In February 2013, Minister of JusticeAntonis Roupakiotis said that thegovernment was considering amending the cohabitation agreement law to include same-sex couples.[16][19]
On 8 February 2011, theEuropean Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided to merge and accept two cases from four couples regarding a breach ofArticle 8 (respect of private and family life),Article 14 (freedom from discrimination) and Article 13 (effective remedy) of theEuropean Convention on Human Rights. The cases were brought to the ECHR as a result of the government introducing cohabitation agreement legislation that specifically and expressly excluded same-sex couples. On 7 November 2013, the ECHR ruled inVallianatos and Others v. Greece that excluding same-sex couples from cohabitation agreements was discriminatory.[20] On 12 November, PASOK announced its intention to introduce a bill extending the cohabitation agreement law to same-sex couples.[21][22] In November 2014, it was announced that many major changes to Greek family law would be considered, including the extension of cohabitation agreements to same-sex couples. It was also reported that the Ministry of Justice was not considering same-sex marriage.[23] Parliament was dissolved in December 2014 following the government's failure to electStavros Dimas as president of Greece. Snap elections were called for January 2015, delaying the discussion to the following year.
On 9 February 2015, following theJanuary 2015 legislative election, theSyriza-ledgovernment, sworn in on 27 January 2015, promised to extend cohabitation agreements to same-sex couples.[24][25] On 24 April 2015, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice announced the government's intention to introduce a bill to theHellenic Parliament within two months.[26] Shortly thereafter, a committee was formed to study the issue until 15 June 2015.[27] The bill was published on 10 June 2015.[28][29]
A new draft of the cohabitation agreement bill, which would grant same-sex couples some of the rights ofmarriage, was published on 9 November 2015. It was underpublic consultation until 20 November. Justice MinisterNikos Paraskevopoulos announced that the legislation would not grant adoption rights to same-sex couples, but that the issue "would be studied in the future".[30][31] The bill was submitted to Parliament on 9 December,[32][33][34] and approved on 22 December 2015 by a vote of 193–56 with 51 abstentions,[35][36][37] following a contentious debate that lasted ten hours. The bill was supported by the governing center-left Syriza, theDemocratic Alignment,The River and theUnion of Centrists, but opposed by the far-rightGolden Dawn, while the liberal-conservativeNew Democracy and the national-conservativeIndependent Greeks were divided. TheCommunist Party of Greece mostly abstained.[38] The law was signed byPresidentProkopis Pavlopoulos, and published in theGovernment Gazette on 24 December. It took effect upon publication.[39] The first same-sex cohabitation agreement was conducted inAthens on 25 January 2016 by MayorGiorgos Kaminis.[40][41]
| Party | Voted for | Voted against | Abstained |
|---|---|---|---|
| G Syriza | 140
| – | 4
|
| New Democracy | 19
| 29
| 27
|
| Golden Dawn | – | 18
| – |
| Democratic Alignment | 16
| – | |
| Communist Party of Greece | – | 3
| 12
|
| The River | 9
| – | 2
|
| G Independent Greeks | 3
| 5
| |
| Union of Centrists | 6
| – | 3
|
| Independent | – | – | |
| Total | 193 | 56 | 51 |
| 64.3% | 18.7% | 17.0% |
On 9 November 2016, thegovernment submitted a draft bill equalizing cohabitation agreements with marriages in several areas including employment benefits and workers' rights.[43][44][45][46] The bill was approved by Parliament on 2 December in a 201–21 vote.[47] It was signed into law by President Pavlopoulos on 8 December 2016 and took effect upon publication in the official journal the following day.[48]
According to theHellenic Statistical Authority, 2,330 same-sex cohabitation agreements had been registered in Greece by the end of 2023, mostly between male couples. Cohabitation agreements have also become popular among opposite-sex couples.[49] In 2023, 39% of all unions conducted in Greece were religious marriages, while 34% were civil marriages and 27% were cohabitation agreements.[49]
| Year | Same-sex unions | Opposite-sex unions | Total unions | % same-sex | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Total | ||||
| 2016 | 50 | 167 | 217 | 3,579 | 3,796 | 5.72% |
| 2017[50] | 40 | 94 | 134 | 4,787 | 4,921 | 2.72% |
| 2018[51] | 55 | 231 | 286 | 6,083 | 6,369 | 4.49% |
| 2019[52] | 54 | 199 | 253 | 7,671 | 7,924 | 3.19% |
| 2020[53] | 64 | 172 | 236 | 8,750 | 8,986 | 2.63% |
| 2021[54] | 89 | 225 | 314 | 11,236 | 11,550 | 2.72% |
| 2022[55] | 113 | 394 | 507 | 12,650 | 13,157 | 3.85% |
| 2023[49] | 121 | 262 | 383 | 14,686 | 15,069 | 2.54% |
In 2008, the LGBT rights group OLKE announced its intention to suemunicipalities that refused to marry same-sex couples, pointing out a loophole in the 1982 law that legalizedcivil marriage between "persons", without reference togender.[56] On 3 June 2008, Mayor Anastasios Aliferis ofTilos married two same-sex couples, two lesbians and two gay men, citing the legal loophole. He was heavily criticized by clergymen of theChurch of Greece, which in the past had also opposed the introduction of heterosexual civil marriage, the original intent of the 1982 law.Justice MinisterSotirios Hatzigakis declared the Tilos marriages "invalid" andSupreme Court prosecutor Georgios Sanidas warned Aliferis of the legal repercussions of his "breach of duty", but he said he had "no intention of annulling the marriages".[57][58] Government officials filed a court motion to annul the two same-sex marriages, triggering demonstrations and protests among the LGBT community.[11]
On 5 May 2009, a court of first instance inRhodes ruled that the marriages were invalid, but the couplesappealed the ruling.[59] A hearing in the case by a court of appeal was held on 14 January 2011. The court issued a decision invalidating both marriages on 14 April 2011. On 30 November 2017, this ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court. The couples subsequently announced their intention to sue Greece at theEuropean Court of Human Rights (ECHR).[60]
Syriza, the main party in Greece's coalition governments from 2015 to 2019 under Prime MinisterAlexis Tsipras, had promised to legalize same-sex marriage as part of its September 2015 campaign platform,[61] though no legislation was ever proposed. On 10 June 2019, a few weeks ahead of theparliamentary election held on 7 July 2019, Tsipras repeated the promise, stating that his party would push through same-sex marriage legislation if it won the election. However, his party was not re-elected.[62][63]
On 17 March 2021, Prime Minister Mitsotakis formed a committee with the mandate to prepare a national strategy for LGBT equality.Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, a former president of the ECHR, was appointed the head of the committee. It also included experts on family and constitutional law, members of civil society, including spokespeople from the Transgender Support Association, Thessaloniki Pride and the Rainbow Families of Greece, and several government officials.[5] This included Panos Alexandris, the Secretary General of Justice and Human Rights, and Alex Patelis, the Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, who hadcome out as gay in June 2020, becoming the most senior out government official in Greece.[64] On 29 June 2021, the committee presented the national strategy to Prime Minister Mitsotakis, which included a section on same-sex marriage.[4] Subsequently, a team was formed from members of the office of the Prime Minister to set up an action plan based on the guidelines included in the national strategy. Numerous meetings were held with all competent ministries, and the proposals of the plan were included in the annual action plans of the ministries. As a result of these policies,ILGA-Europe raised Greece's score on its "Rainbow Map" from 47% in 2021 to 57% in 2023, ranking the country 13th inEurope.[65]
In June 2022, Syriza lawmakers introduced a same-sex marriage bill to the Hellenic Parliament,[2] but it was not discussed before the end of the legislative session. On 1 April 2023, Tsipras again vowed to legalize same-sex marriage if his party were elected to government in theMay 2023 elections;[66] however, Syriza was not elected.
In July 2023, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whoseNew Democracy party was re-elected in theJune 2023 election, announced hisgovernment's intention to legalize same-sex marriage. In an interview withBloomberg Television, Mitsotakis added that "Greek society is much more ready and mature."[1][67][68] In September,Kathimerini reported that a draft bill legalizing same-sex marriage was expected to be introduced to Parliament "in the coming months". The bill would define marriage as the union of "two persons of the same or different sex", and guarantee all the rights and obligations of marriage to married spouses irrespective ofsexual orientation. Mitsotakis also said New Democracy MPs would be granted aconscience vote.[69] In November 2023, media reported that the government was "finalising" the bill.[70] In December, themonastic community of Mount Athos expressed its opposition to the bill.[71] The Church of Greece also released a statement opposing the proposed bill. It also expressed its opposition to adoption by same-sex couples and argued that children "are being treated as 'accessories' and 'companion pets' for gay couples". Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis reacted to the statement, "We always listen to the opinions of the Church with respect. But at the same time, we are implementing our policy, and will listen to the views of society, civil society, the citizenry, institutions, and parties in total."[72] Anopinion poll conducted in December showed that 52% of Greek citizens supported same-sex marriage.[9]
On 8 January 2024, Syriza introduced its own same-sex marriage bill to Parliament.[73] Prime Minister Mitsotakis confirmed the government's intention to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption on 10 January,[74] adding that he hoped to have the bill approved before Easter.[75] On 11 January,Stefanos Kasselakis announced his support for the government bill despite its "imperfections" on parental rights, and said he would instruct all Syriza lawmakers to vote for the proposal,[76] though some Syriza MPs eventually did not vote for the bill.[77] The government ruled out holding a referendum on the issue on 19 January.[78] A public consultation period lasted from 25 January until 31 January,[79] with the bill being introduced to Parliament on 1 February byMinister of State Akis Skertsos.[80][29] A committee debate on 5 February showed majority support for the bill.[81] A final vote on the legislation took place on 15 February with the bill passing by 176 votes to 76.[82][83][84] It was signed into law by PresidentKaterina Sakellaropoulou and took effect upon publication in theGovernment Gazette on 16 February 2024 (Law 5089/2024).[8] Following the vote, a celebratory dinner attended by Sakellaropoulou, Skertsos, and Patelis faced criticism from the conservative press.[85] According to some analysts, the backlash from this event was a contributing factor in Sakellaropoulou not being nominated for a second term.[86] The first same-sex marriage took place inNea Smyrni,South Athens on 2 March 2024 between Stavros Gavriliadis and Dimitris Elefsiniotis.[87][88]
The law amended article 1350 of the Greek Civil Code to state:Marriage shall be contracted between two persons of different or the same sex.[a] In addition to granting same-sex couples full adoption rights, the law also recognizes their parental rights over children born abroad.[21] It also allows for the retroactive recognition of same-sex marriages performed abroad, and abolished the requirement thattransgender people divorce their partners before being allowed to legally change gender.[19] Following the vote, ILGA-Europe ranked Greece sixth in Europe for LGBT rights, with a score of 71%.[90]
Three religious organisations subsequently challenged the new law at theCouncil of State, arguing that the legalisation of same-sex marriage "alter[ed] the traditional concept of family and disadvantage[d] adopted children". The Council ruled 21–6 on 30 May 2025 that the law was constitutional and dismissed the lawsuit. It found that the marriage law "complies with constitutional provisions regarding equality and the protection of marriage, family, motherhood, and childhood".[91][92]
More than 400 same-sex marriages had taken place in Greece by February 2025,[93] of which around 65% were between two men.[94]
A May 2015 Focus Bari poll found that 70% ofGreeks agreed that civil partnerships should be extended to same-sex couples. The same poll also found majority support for same-sex marriage, with 56% in favor and 35% opposed.[95][96] A poll conducted by DiaNEOsis in December 2016 showed that 50% of Greeks supported same-sex marriage and 26% were in favor ofadoption by same-sex couples.[97] The 2019Eurobarometer found that 39% of Greeks thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 56% were opposed. The same poll found that 64% of respondents agreed with the statement: "Gay, lesbian and bisexual people should have the same rights as heterosexual people", whereas 32% disagreed. Those figures marked increases of 6% and 2%, respectively, compared to the 2015 Eurobarometer survey.[98]
A 2020 poll conducted by theFriedrich Naumann Foundation in cooperation with KAPA Research found that same-sex marriage was supported by 56% of respondents, while adoption by same-sex couples was supported by 40%.[99][100] APew Research Center poll conducted between February and May 2023 showed that 48% of Greeks supported same-sex marriage, 49% were opposed and 3% did not know or had refused to answer. When divided by age, support was highest among 18–34-year-olds at 67% and lowest among those aged 35 and above at 43%. Women (54%) were also more likely to support same-sex marriage than men (42%). When divided by political affiliation, support was highest among those on the left of the political spectrum at 74%, followed by those at the center at 50% and those on the right at 36%.[101]
A December 2023 Pulse poll conducted forSkai between 18 and 20 December found that 52% of Greeks supported same-sex marriage and 33% were opposed, while 10% were undecided or indifferent to the issue and 5% did not answer. Specifically, 20% wanted same-sex marriage to be allowed, and 32% would not mind if same-sex marriage was allowed. Support for same-sex adoption was split however, as 42% of Greeks supported it and 47% were opposed, while 5% were undecided or indifferent to the issue and 6% did not answer. Specifically, 18% wanted same-sex adoption to be allowed, and 24% would not mind if same-sex adoption was allowed.[9]
The 2023 Eurobarometer found that 57% of Greeks thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 40% were opposed. The survey also found that 57% of Greeks thought that "there is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex", while 40% disagreed.[10] In January 2024, an opinion poll conducted by theProto Thema newspaper found that 55% of Greeks supported same-sex marriage and 53% supported adoption rights for same-sex couples.[102] A poll conducted in late January 2024 by Metron Analysis showed that 62% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, with 36% opposed. However, regarding adoption rights for same-sex couples, only 30% expressed support, with 69% opposed. Support was highest among those on the left and center-left of the political spectrum, while lowest among those on the center and center-right.[103]
Although the majority of Greeks (who are mostly Christian)[104] support same-sex marriage according to opinion polls, theChurch of Greece, theRoman Catholic Church and theGreek Orthodox Church continue to oppose it. In early February 2024, an encyclical read out at Orthodox churches at a Sunday morning liturgy opposed measures it said would "promote the abolition of fatherhood and motherhood… and put the sexual choices of homosexual adults above the interests of future children".[105] Representatives of themonastic community of Mount Athos also expressed opposition to the same-sex marriage law, which does not apply to the autonomous region as it has its own sovereignty within Greece and the European Union.[71]
