Following the ruling earlier this month by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg that Greece was discriminating against same-sex couples by not allowing them to form civil unions, it had been reported that draft anti-racism legislation, due to be put before parliament soon, would include an amendment redressing the wrong. Out of 19 EU countries allowing civil unions, only Greece and Lithuania discriminate against homosexual couples.
Supporters for marriage equality had already hailed the move, widely considered a done deal, as an important victory. However the backlash from conservative voices including the church (which is highly influential among conservative voters and politicians) was apparently serious enough to cause the government to abruptly change tack.
Now the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights is denying that there were ever plans for such an amendment to the anti-racism bill, adding that the issue of same-sex civil unions is not one of its immediate priorities. This has provoked the intense ire of PASOK MPs who claim that, under pressure from socially conservative New Democracy MPs, the ministry reneged on a promise made to them.
According to the socialist MPs a clear deal over the issue was struck in a meeting yesterday with Justice and Human Rights Minister Charalambos Athanasiou, whereby the same-sex civil union amendment would be supported in parliament by both parties. PASOK officials added that, aside from the political deal that was stuck, there were other reasons necessitating the amendment – not least of which being that Greece has already been fined by the european courts for violating the rights of homosexual couples.
But the Ministry denies that any such political deal was struck in the meeting saying that such a deal would be ‘unnecessary’. Furthermore the ministry now appears to be engaged in foot-dragging over the issue. According to Kathimerini newspaper (link in greek), Justice Ministry officials pressed on the issue said, “We are obliged to harmonize our legislation with EU law. We are waiting for the Court in Strasbourg to send us the final draft of the ruling which we will study, and in due course we will decide on the legal framework, which may take the form of an amendment or new draft law. At the moment neither is being drafted.”
PASOK officials claim that the ministry’s ‘about-face’ was prompted by pressure exerted by the socially conservative wing of the center-right New Democracy party. Reports of the deal also provoked the wrath of more extreme voices in the orthodox church such as the Metropolitan of Piraeus Seraphim Mentzenopoulos, who threatened that any MP voting for a bill that extended the right to establish civil unions to gay couples risked excommunication from the church.