The Council of Europe is to host a conference looking for solutions to problems of mutual recognition of same sex partnership and marriages in both the European Union and Council of Europe member countries.
The Council claims that same sex couples are currently being denied the same rights as heterosexual couples in Europe because they cannot freely move from country to country.
At present, same sex marriages are allowed in seven European countries and 14 accept civil partnerships, with other countries maintaining stricter rules – effectively creating a barrier to movement for same sex couples, who may lose their social, fiscal or parental rights, or even their nationalities.
The conference will hear the testimony of people who have been denied their rights and look at how business and public organisations deal with international staff transfers.
