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Concept
LGBT rights in Europe
Summary
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are widely diverse in Europe per country. Twenty of the 35 countries that have legalised same-sex marriage worldwide are situated in Europe. A further eleven European countries have legalised civil unions or other forms of more limited recognition for same-sex couples.
Several European countries do not recognise any form of same-sex unions. Marriage is defined as a union solely between a man and a woman in the constitutions of Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Of these, however, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia and Montenegro recognise same-sex partnerships. Same-sex marriage is unrecognised but not constitutionally banned in the constitutions of Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, and Vatican City. Eastern Europe is seen as having fewer legal rights and protections, worse living conditions, and less supportive public opinion for LGBT people than that in Western Europe.
All European countries that allow marriage also allow joint adoption by same-sex couples. Of the countries that have civil unions only, none but Andorra allow joint adoption, and only half allow step-parent adoption.
In the 2011 UN General Assembly declaration for LGBT rights, state parties were given a chance to express their support, opposition or abstention on the topic. A majority of the European countries expressed their support, and only Kazakhstan expressed its opposition. State parties that expressed abstention were Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, and Turkey.
In December 2020, Hungary explicitly legally banned adoption for same-sex couples within its constitution, and in June 2021 the Hungarian parliament approved a law prohibiting the showing of "any content portraying or promoting sex reassignment or homosexuality" to minors, similar to the Russian "anti-gay propaganda" law. Thirteen EU member states condemned the law, calling it a breach of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Official source
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