Same-sex marriage in Belgium Same-sex marriage in Belgium On 1 June 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, after the Netherlands. "Statutory cohabitation", open to any two legally consenting cohabiting persons, is also possible since 1 January 2000. In 1995, a bill was introduced in Parliament to provide for a legal framework of "cohabitation agreements". It was mostly intended as a response to the lowering marriage rates, rather than giving rights to same-sex couples. In 1998, the bill was changed to "statutory cohabitation" (; ; ) and finally voted on. The Chamber of Representatives approved it by a
Cohabitation agreement have been gained, regardless of any cohabitation agreement existing, but if a couple share a home their chances of buying the rights are much more limited. In December 2005, the British government offered gay couples equal rights with married couples if they register a civil partnership legally. The government-backed scheme – which enables same-sex couples to qualify for next-of-kin entitlements on inheritance tax, pensions and property – is likely to attract many more couples. There will still be large legal differences between civil partnership and marriage. For example, a couple can get married and have all the legal rights and