Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-22-Speech-2-475-000"
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"en.20120522.19.2-475-000"2
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"Madam President, I think there was quasi-unanimity among the speakers. Homophobia has no place in Europe, either in an open form or in a hidden form, in any Member State, and that includes those Member States which are newcomers to the European family. It has no place against any citizen, wherever he or she may be, in the EU or in those countries outside the EU which want to have relations with us. I made that clear in my speech and I quoted Baroness Ashton, who regularly intervenes on specific issues in such countries.
Because I agree with it, I will not repeat everything that has been said. There was, however, one question which I have already answered several times in written form but which I think it is important to answer in this Chamber in order to make things clear. It concerns the link between the Free Movement Directive and the mutual recognition of same-sex couples. You know that the Free Movement Directive provides for the right of entry and residence for Union citizens and their family members, regardless of the recognition of same-sex marriages or partnerships. Such recognition is immaterial for the purposes of the application of the directive.
Article 24 of the directive ensures that same-sex couples who exercise their right to free movement have the same rights within the scope of the Treaty as same-sex couples in the host Member State. The mere fact of having exercised the right to free movement does not imply that same-sex couples would acquire more rights in the host Member State than those guaranteed to their own nationals in that Member State.
The question of recognition of marriages does not fall within the scope of the Free Movement Directive. In order to apply it correctly, Member States do not need to address the recognition of same-sex unions. They need simply to grant entry and residence to the couples in question and to their family members, including spouses and partners, irrespective of their sexual orientation. This means that all Member States are obliged to grant the right of residence to a Union citizen’s spouse regardless of sexual orientation, but the host Member State is under no obligation to recognise the marriage under its national law.
So much for the legal question, but when this legal question is not handled properly, what do we do? I shall give you a very concrete example. A Polish authority refused to issue certificates on civil status to citizens wishing to marry, or conclude a registered partnership with, a person of the same sex in a Member State where this is possible. The Commission intervened on the basis that such a stance was incompatible with respect for private and family life, and the Polish authorities informed us that steps would be taken to abolish the practice of asking the sex of the future spouse or partner. I give you this example in order to explain what the law says and to explain how, without making a big fuss, we can intervene in the application of the law in a Member State in order to have that Member State change a practice which is not in accordance with our European rules."@en1
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