The European Commission wants to ensure that all EU countries recognize the rights of LGBTQ parents. However, the conservative member states of the Union may oppose it.
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The European Commission proposed new rules on Wednesday for the recognition of same-sex parents in all EU countries. The proposal states that if any EU member state recognizes the rights of LGBTQ parents, it would be required to recognize all other countries in the 27-member bloc.
“We want to help all families and children in all member states. If you’re a parent in one country, you’re a parent in every country,” European Commission President Ersula van der Leyen wrote on Twitter.
The European Commission reportedly wants to create a ‘European Certificate of Paternity’ to ensure that if children of same-sex parents have rights in any EU country, they will be recognized in all other countries in the bloc. .
This will save the huge legal cost of settling inheritance cases or facilitate decisions regarding their education. European Union Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders says that there are currently around two million children in a legal relationship with their parents that are not recognized by other EU countries.
“This is because these families move to a member state that does not recognize paternity recognized in the former country,” Reynders added. Reynders, however, clarified that the commission is not seeking to make any changes to the legal definition of family at the national level.
The Commission said in a statement that the initiative is being taken on the basis of a ruling in a case at the EU’s highest court. The court said in its decision that paternity recognized in a country of the European Union is also applicable to other member countries.
The support of all EU member states will be necessary to implement this proposal. However, it is feared that conservative governments will oppose the proposal.
According to a report of the European Parliament, 11 member states of the European Union do not recognize same-sex couples as parents. Last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union ordered Bulgaria to issue identity documents to the daughter of a same-sex couple. The alleged mother of the girl is a citizen of Belgium and lives in Spain.
