Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with a state-run television channel on Wednesday that the government would shortly submit legislation allowing same-sex civil marriages, despite reservations from the Orthodox Church and some lawmakers. 

Mitsotakis vowed to eliminate any discrimination based on sexual orientation in marriages. He added that “marriage equality has already been legislated” in twenty European countries and Greece is “moving forward” in that direction. He emphasized that the motivation behind proposing this legislation is to ensure equal protection of child rights. Currently, in the event of the death of a person in a same-sex relationship, their child’s guardianship would be given to an institution rather than their surviving partner, which impacts the well-being of the child. Additionally, the proposal would allow child adoption but would not interfere with the “assisted reproduction regime.”

In 1982, Greece witnessed “a great revolution in family law” as adultery was decriminalized, domestic violence was criminalized and women were provided the choice to keep their surname which, as Mitsotakis noted, took place despite the opposition from the Orthodox Church. Therefore, while the views of the Church would be taken into consideration, they would not be allowed to dictate the legislative process. Further, Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party would not impose their views on dissident ministers but would open a forum for discussion on the issue.

Over the past decade, Greece has implemented a series of reforms to improve LGBTQI+ rights. The country legalized same-sex civil partnerships in 2015 and allowed legal recognition of gender identity in 2017. In 2021, the premier appointed a committee to draft a national strategy for 2021-2025 to improve LGBTQI+ rights. In 2022, Greece banned conversion therapy for minors.

Despite these strides, same-sex couples face troubles as they are still not allowed to have or adopt children. In addition, gender identity recognition is a complex judicial procedure and conversion therapy is still allowed for adults. A report by the Council of Europe informed of the continuous discrimination and intolerance faced by the community which are frequent targets of hate speech.

Mitsotakis won his second term in 2023 and allowing same-sex civil marriage was a key component of his campaign.