The Greek justice minister has posted a draft bill to open up civil partnerships to same-sex couples

The bill comes 18months after Greece was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for not granting any legal recognition to same-sex couples.

In a statement, the justice minister Nikolaos Paraskevopoulos said: “Seven years after the establishment of the civil partnership agreement that excluded same-sex couples and a year and a half after our country was convicted at the European Court of Human Rights, we present a modern institutional framework that regulates partnerships.”

Couples that choose civil partnership will have the same rights as married couples, according to the Bill.

‘Civil rights, inheritance issues, taxation and public employee law rights will apply to couples that prefer civil partnership,’ Paraskevopoulos said.

However same-sex couples won’t have the right to adopt children. ‘Adoption by same sex couples will be discussed in the future,’ the minister said.

A same-sex couple was wed in Greece in 2008, but their marriage was later annulled.