Same-sex union legislation marriages performed in the Netherlands are recognized in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry has been and remains the topic of debate worldwide. Thirty-four countries and four jurisdictions worldwide have passed constitutional amendments that explicitly prohibit the legal recognition of same-sex marriage and sometimes other forms of legal unions as well. Seventeen countries and twenty-nine jurisdictions worldwide have authorized civil unions or unregistered cohabitation for same-sex couples as an alternative to marriage. The legal name of those unions as well as the number of rights that they provide can vary greatly. The first
Recognition of same-sex unions in Greece On 9 November 2016, the Government submitted a draft bill equalizing cohabitation agreements with marriages in most areas. The bill was approved by Parliament on 2 December, in a 201-21 vote. It was signed into law by President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on 8 December 2016 and took effect upon publication in the government gazette the following day. The number of cohabitation agreements per year is as follows: Gay rights group OLKE announced its intention to sue Greek municipalities that refuse to marry same-sex couples, pointing out a loophole in the 1982 law that legalized civil marriage between "persons", without reference to