Recognition of same-sex unions in Cyprus

Cyprus has recognised same-sex unions since 9 December 2015 by allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil cohabitation. A bill to establish civil cohabitation was approved by the Cypriot Parliament on 26 November 2015. The law took effect on 9 December 2015 upon publication in the country's official gazette.

In 2010, the Permanent Secretary at the Cypriot Interior Ministry, Lazaros Savvides, indicated that the government would begin examining the issue of whether same-sex marriage should be made legal in the country.

This was followed in 2013 by an announcement by the Interior Minister, Eleni Mavrou, that her officials were working on a parliamentary bill proposing the creation of civil partnerships, rather than extending the right to marry to same-sex couples. The government subsequently accepted the draft bill. In March of that year, the newly elected president Nicos Anastasiades and his government reaffirmed their support for the bill. In November 2013, the Interior Minister, Socratis Hasikos, confirmed that the bill remained on the Government's agenda, with a draft prepared and sent to other Ministries for review. The intention was to hold a parliamentary vote in April 2014, but, as of June 2014, the bill had still not been submitted. According to the Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Constantinos Nicolaides, the bill should have been completed in April, but was is still being drafted. In July 2014, Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos clarified that a proposed bill would need consensus from all parties before moving forward. He gave all parties a copy of the bill and asked that they study it in time for a second meeting that same September. Hasikos stressed that he would not hold a vote until he was sure all parties were in favour.

In March 2014, the head of the Orthodox Church in Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostomos II signalled his opposition to plans to introduce either civil partnership or marriage rights, urging churches to take a stand against homosexuality and accusing secular governments of “weakening moral integrity” through acknowledging equal rights to homosexuals: “When, for example, governments legalise not only plain civil partnership but ‘homosexual marriage’, the Church must be unequivocal in condemning homosexuality.”

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Wikipedia