The European Parliament has stated in a resolution on LGBTQ+ rights that rainbow families should have all same freedoms as their heterosexual counterparts across the EU, with same-sex marriages being uniformly recognised.

The resolution was adopted with a landslide of 387 votes in favour, with 161 against and 123 abstaining.

By extension of the resolution, MEPs are calling for enforcement action against Romania, Hungary and Poland for breaching the values of the EU.

The government in Romania, a member of the European Union since 2007, has failed to update their national legislation following a ruling by the European Court of Justice about spouse provisions.

The ruling of “Coman & Hamilton” found that “spouse” provisions in the Free Movement Directive also apply to same-sex couples, which is not yet reflected in the Romanian government’s policies.

Simply put, if a same-sex couple marries in Ireland or any other European country, that legal partnership is not recognised in Romania, but the same is not true for a heterosexual couple that marries under the same circumstances.

A heterosexual marriage is universally recognised while, absurdly, a same-sex marriage is location-dependent.

This means rainbow families face greater risks when travelling across Europe, vulnerable to the possibility that some states won’t accept those named on a child’s birth certificate as their legal parents. Furthermore, children of same-sex parents could become stateless when their families move between member states.

In July the European Commission launched legal cases against Hungary and Poland for discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and communities.

Europe will never allow parts of our society to be stigmatised.

We start legal action against Hungary and Poland for violations of fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people.

Read more in our press release ↓

— European Commission (@EU_Commission) July 15, 2021

Laws in Hungary prohibit access to LGBTQ+ information for young people under a broader “Anti-Pedophilia Act”, which has been criticised for its conflation of paedophilia with homosexuality and its vague wording.

Meanwhile, in Poland, there are established LGBTQ-free zones in over 100 regions, where authorities have pledged to discourage tolerance toward homosexuality.

The resolution called for by Members of the European Parliament states that marriages or registered partnerships formed in one member state should be uniformly recognised across the EU.

This would elevate the rights of rainbow families to that of their hetero-counterparts, allowing equal freedom of movement and family reunification rights everywhere in the Union.

Parliament is also calling for further EU action against Romania, Hungary and Poland in the form of infringement procedures, judicial measures and budgetary tools.