Let's Just Not Talk about It: Same Sex Families in the EU

In spite of the rhetoric of equality at EU level, in spite of gender mainstreaming, Directives on equality and non-discrimination and in spite of the existence of same sex relationships being acknowledged in some legislative provisions such as the Citizen’s Rights Directive, same sex families seem to be a thing we don’t talk about in the EU. What is it about same sex families that the EU is not comfortable with? Why is it that the EU is not engaging in the debates about marriage equality, about adoption rights, about non-discrimination and about the freedom of its citizens to choose with whom they wish to share their lives. These debates are, albeit at different levels and at different stages of development, going on in the Member States. This paper therefore examines the EU’s position on same sex families by considering  policies as well as the legal provisions and judicial decisions which directly and indirectly impact on those families.  It poses the following questions: Why does the EU continue to undermine equality law and policy by not tackling questions around same sex families in a variety of policy areas and how can it be persuaded to engage with what it seems to consider an exceedingly tricky issue.