In December 2015 the parliament in Athens had introduced relevant legislation to allow same-sex marriages in Greece.
Nearly 200 of a 300 seated parliament voted in favour for this legislation despite opposition from some political parties and the Orthodox Church. Other European countries such as Britain, Cyprus and Spain had already passed this legislation before Greece.
At noon on Monday 25th January 2016 the first same-sex civil partnership certificate was signed by the Mayor of Athens, Giorgos Kaminis. This was a symbolic day as it was an important day for ‘human rights’. It is known that Mr.Kaminis signed five civil partnership certificates in total on Monday. This is a positive step forward.
“Today is an important day for human rights” announced the Mayor of Athens Giorgos Kaminis. He also uploaded a picture onto his Twitter account, signing the first civil partnership certificate.