Same-sex union legislation legislation of unregistered cohabitation was introduced in the Netherlands in June 1979. However, the first substantial recognition of same-sex couples didn't occur before the introduction of a new legal form, that of registered partnerships, which was first enacted in Denmark in June 1989. Many countries have followed with similar legislation since then. Legislation of these forms of legal unions still occur with a variety of different names, even after the introduction of same sex marriage, although sometimes they are overwritten by subsequent legislation of same-sex marriage. There are currently seventeen countries that have an alternative form of legal recognition other
Recognition of same-sex unions in Greece cohabiting couples, Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, the most respected-bishop of the Church of Greece, suggested that "[t]here is a need to change with the time". It is unclear, however, whether this view applied to same-sex couples, particularly as the Church has previously opposed LGBT rights in general and civil union laws in particular. "Law 3719/2008" ("Reforms concerning the family, children and society"), which entered into force on 26 November 2008, established a form of partnership known as "cohabitation agreements" ("σύμφωνο συμβίωσης"), only available to opposite-sex couples. Before the legislative elections of 4 October 2009, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK)