Two points are raised by SYRIZAin the framework of discussion of the Equality Bill to Civil marriage. The rapporteur of SYRIZA, Elena Akritasaid that there are points in the bill that, if not improved, will cause legal disputes and ultimately the need for a new legislative amendment, because “those who are harmed will go to court and be vindicated”.

Every reference to same-sex couples or persons of the same sex introduces new issues of sexism, ignoring the facts that Law 4491/2017 has already resolved, as SYRIZA notes and proposes to replace every reference to “same-sex” with the expression “persons regardless of gender”.

The second point concerns the government’s decision to bring the bill without to give the ability to male couples to resort to medically assisted reproduction, through it surrogacy.

For SYRIZA, this constitutes clear distinction and it completely contradicts article 4 of the Constitution, which says that Greek men and women are equal before the law. “Why is it that a couple, with what law of yours, will be able to have children abroad, with assisted reproduction, through surrogacy, but cannot do this in Greece?”, noted the SYRIZA rapporteur.

Also, the official opposition party calls on the government to clarify, in the course of the debate, firstly, whether it will erase him term “homosexuals” from the bill and replace it by “couples regardless of gender” and whether the need for “self-declaration of persons as heterosexual or homosexual” will be eliminated.

Secondly, the regulation of children’s issues when parents, whether foster or natural or adoptive, change their own gender identity. But when they go to the registry office and update their information, the relationship they already have with their children should not be disrupted (Article 5), so the government needs to explain what they are going to do about it. Third, an express provision of equalization is imposed in every relationship of insurance, social security, and joint tax returns. The government needs to clarify how it will handle this provision. Fourthly, an explicit mention of the application of the procedural provisions, such as for example the privileged status of a spouse as a witness, is required for every married couple. And in this matter the government must answer how it will handle it.

“SYRIZA, from 2022, had submitted a proposal for a law for equality and for all rights, for all the rights that derive from it. A proposal put forward that is part of the core of European politics. In contrast, unfortunately, with the government’s bill, the removal of gender discrimination in family law is for SYRIZA the natural continuation of a set of reforms carried out in the four-year period 2015-2019”, emphasized Ms. Akrita and added that the legislative interventions of SYRIZA were interventions of inclusion, they improved the lives of citizens and became a catalyst for the maturation of society.

“Today, the government of the New Democracy brings an even if incomplete, even if in some parts of it clearly problematic regulation for the rights to marriage”, pointed out the SYRIZA rapporteur, who nevertheless noted that even with a significant delay, the legal recognition in marriage equality is a significant change in our country. “The most important thing in the discussion is to respond to the demands for equality and to create the right conditions for inclusion,” underlined Ms. Akrita.