Europe
Andorra lawmakers extend civil marriage equality to same-sex couples
Small European country’s family code revised
Lawmakers in Andorra on Thursday voted unanimously to extend civil marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Andorra is a small country known for its ski areas that is nestled between Spain and France in the Pyrenees.
Media reportsĀ indicateĀ the new Andorran family code that lawmakers approved eliminates the legal differences between married heterosexual couples and gays and lesbians who have entered into civil partnerships.Ā
“Today we are voting on a law for everyone, which includes all of us,” said Carles EnseƱat, president of Andorra’s Democratic Parliamentary Group, before the vote. “[It is] a law of a modern country that ensures the free development of citizenship and bases its success on the most primordial organizational nucleus ā the family ā with all its diversity.”
Spain and France are among the European jurisdictions in which same-sex couples can legally marry.
The Slovenia Constitutional Court earlier this month ruled a law that limited marriage and adoption rights to heterosexual partners is unconstitutional. Switzerland’s marriage equality law took effect on July 1.
It is not immediately clear when Andorra’s new family code takes effect.
Belarus
Belarusian lawmakers approve bill to crackdown on LGBTQ rights
Countryās president known as āEuropeās last dictatorā
Lawmakers in Belarus on Thursday approved a bill that would allow the government to crack down on LGBTQ advocacy.
The Associated Press notes the bill would punish anyone found guilty of āpropaganda of homosexual relations, gender change, refusal to have children, and pedophiliaā with fines, community labor, and 15 days in jail.
The House of Representatives, the lower house of the Belarusian National Assembly, last month approved the bill. The Council of the Republic, which is the parliamentās upper chamber, passed it on Thursday.
President Alexander Lukashenko is expected to sign it.
Belarus borders Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Lukashenko ā known as āEuropeās last dictatorā is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kazakhstan is among the countries that have enacted Russian-style anti-LGBTQ propaganda laws in recent years.
Vika Biran, a Belarusian LGBTQ activist, is among those arrested during anti-Lukashenko protests that took place in 2020 after he declared victory in the countryās presidential election.
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will visit Hungary next week.
An announcement the White House released on Thursday said the Vances will be in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from April 7-8.
JD Vance āwill hold bilateral meetings withā Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor OrbĆ”n. The announcement further indicates the vice president āwill also deliver remarks on the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary.ā
The Vances will travel to Hungary less than a week before the countryās parliamentary elections take place on April 12.
OrbƔn, who has been in office since 2010, and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Associated Press notes polls indicate OrbƔn is trailing PƩter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party.
Poland
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Poland āmust comply with European Union lawā
Polandās Supreme Administrative Court on March 20 ruled the country must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other European Union states.
The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg last November ruled in favor of a same-sex couple who challenged Polandās refusal to recognize their German marriage.
The couple, who lives in Poland, brought their case to Polish courts in 2019. The Supreme Administrative Court referred it to the EU Court of Justice.
āTodayās ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court clearly demonstrates that Poland, as a member state of the European Union, must comply with European Union law,ā said Przemek Walas, advocacy manager for the Campaign Against Homophobia, a Polish LGBTQ advocacy group, in a statement. āThe Supreme Administrative Court rightly upheld the interpretation of the Court in Luxembourg and indicated that the only way to implement this ruling is to allow the transcription of a foreign marriage certificate.ā
āThis ruling is a significant step towards marital equality, but certainly not sufficient,ā added Walas.
Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Slovenia, Malta, Greece, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia are the EU countries that have extended full marriage rights to same-sex couples. Poland ā along with Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia ā are the four EU countries with no legal recognition of same-sex couples.
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