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
Recognition of same-sex unions in Greece same-sex couples. Recognition of same-sex unions in Greece Greece recognizes same-sex unions by allowing same-sex couples to enter into cohabitation agreements () since 24 December 2015. A bill allowing such unions was approved by the Hellenic Parliament on 23 December 2015 and published in the government gazette the following day. The Government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, which governed until October 2009, was opposed to same-sex marriage. The New Democracy-led Government had proposed legislation that would offer several rights to unmarried couples, but only to opposite-sex couples. If introduced, the law was expected to be declared unconstitutional or against EU