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
Same-sex marriage in Malta it was unknown whether this would be in the form of unregistered cohabitation or registered partnership. National Action supported civil partnerships that would grant to same-sex couples some of the rights extended to married couples, not including welfare benefits. Democratic Alternative/Greens supported civil partnerships providing all of the rights of marriage. On 28 March 2010, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced that the Government was working on a bill to regulate cohabitation, intended to be completed by the end of the year. The draft bill (known as the "Civil Partnerships and Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2012") was presented by