Friday

29th Mar 2024

Finnish woman reveals sad state of EU rights for same-sex families

  • Kaisa: 'For them what matters is that they have two parents, two mums - they have been born into this. It's simple. It's obvious' (Photo: Drab Makyo)

The European Commission says that existing EU law on freedom of movement gives adequate protection to same-sex couples. But the story of one family living in Paris shows how a mixture of confusion and prejudice is stripping some EU citizens of basic rights.

Kaisa, a 37-year-old Finnish journalist, has lived with her partner Claire, a French webmaster, since 1998. The two mothers (not their real names) have a four-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter born to Kaisa via artificial insemination. In legal terms, they registered their civil union under French law in 2004. Claire also has joint custody, giving her the right, for example, to visit her children in hospital in the event of an accident.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

That is where the family's rights end.

If Kaisa died suddenly, the French state would take away Claire's children. If Kaisa left Claire, the French woman would have no right to ever see them again. On the other side of the relationship, if Claire died, her children would have to pay a whopping 60 percent inheritance tax because in legal terms, they are strangers. If Claire left Kaisa, she would have no obligation to pay alimony.

"For our children, our family exists independent of what the law says. For them what matters is that they have two parents, two mums. They have been born into this. It's simple. It's obvious. They don't care about recognition in law. That may come later on," Kaisa told this website. "For us, as long as we don't have any problems, things can move along smoothly. But if there was conflict, tension, between us - these issues would be brought in very quickly."

The immediate problem for Claire and Kaisa is not one of anti-gay prejudice but one of legal confusion.

In order to win normal rights, Claire must adopt the children. As her son and daughter are Finnish citizens, this is possible only through second-parent adoption in Finland. But Finnish authorities do not recognise French same-sex unions and refuse to grant second-parent adoption to French-registered same-sex parents. If Claire and Kaisa had lodged their union in Belgium, the Netherlands or Spain, the Finnish courts could rubber-stamp the adoption because Finland does recognise same-sex unions from a handful of other EU states.

"From Finland there is no prejudice as such. They just don't know what to do - they are sticking to some kind of abstract guidelines. It's crazy there are so many different versions of national legislation and no mutual recognition everywhere in the European Union," Kaisa said.

In order for Claire to adopt, the family would have to negotiate a legal maze: Kaisa would have to dissolve her French union; move to Finland for at least six months; register there for tax purposes; register a new civil union under Finnish law; register the adoption; move back to France and obtain French recognition of the Finnish union and adoption package.

If the family moved to another EU country, the whole set-up could unravel. In terms of anti-gay prejudice, their rights would never be recognised in conservative countries such as Italy or Poland. If they were on holiday in a country such as Malta and one family member suffered an accident, there is no certainty that the others would have any hospital visiting rights at all.

Meanwhile, heterosexual families take all rights for granted from the day of their marriage from Dublin to Nicosia.

Asked by EUobserver if the status quo violates Kaisa's rights under the EU Treaty clause of freedom of movement and the Charter of Fundamental Rights on non-discrimination, the commission gave a boilerplate answer.

Citing a 2004 directive on freedom of movement, it said in a statement that: "The directive provides for the right of entry and residence for EU citizens and their family members regardless of the issue of recognition of marriages or partnerships. It is for member states to decide whether they provide in their internal legal order for same-sex unions."

It added that: "It is clear that union citizens, who live in a legally recognised marriage or registered partnership, should be able to maintain their status and their rights under union law when they move from one member state to another." It also noted that a new Action Plan in 2013 will look to: "facilitating free movement of documents and recognition of the effects of certain civil status documents (e.g. relating to birth, affiliation, adoption or name)."

The Brussels-based gay-rights group, ILGA-Europe, does not accept the argument.

"We cannot agree with the commission that the Freedom of Movement Directive is already tackling the gaps. Many same-sex partners are in fact opting not to travel and reside in a number of EU countries due to the implications that non-recognition of their marriages or registered partnerships has on their lives," it said in a statement in September.

What ILGA-Europe and Kaisa see behind the commission's stance is an unwillingness to tackle the politically explosive issue of enforcing liberal same-sex norms in conservative eastern or southern EU states.

As a journalist herself, Kaisa can imagine the headlines: 'EU imposes gay adoption on Poland.'

"It is a controversial subject, which forces people to say whether they are for or against same-sex unions. But in a way it's not about these theoretical discussions at all. These families already exist in Europe - if they are recognised by one country, they should be recognised by another, because non-recognition has very concrete consequences for people's lives," she said.

"It's about freedom of movement, about a founding principle of the EU. So what's more important for the commission - protecting its principles or making sure it doesn't make certain member states angry?"

EU Parliament set to sue EU Commission over Hungary funds

The European Parliament will likely take the European Commission to court for unblocking more than €10bn in funds for Hungary last December. A final nod of approval is still needed by European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola.

EU Commission clears Poland's access to up to €137bn EU funds

The European Commission has legally paved the way for Poland to access up to €137bn EU funds, following Donald Tusk's government's efforts to strengthen the independence of their judiciary and restore the rule of law in the country.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us