Mixed progress in European gay rights: agency
(BRUSSELS) - European countries are making uneven progress in improving protection for homosexuals, with violence and discrimination still a risk in some states, an EU agency warned on Tuesday.
The Agency for Fundamental Rights said in a report that there were three underlying problems facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Europe, contributing to the uneven landscape.
"They are forced to live in silence and invisibility, suffer violent attacks, and are not treated equally, for example at work, by landlords or when moving around the EU," the report said.
"An increased number of EU member states recognise the right to marriage to same-sex couples while others do not recognise this right," said the agency's director Morten Kjaerum.
"This, in turn, has legal and practical implications for citizens wanting to move between EU countries," said Kjaerum, who also said negative attitudes created grounds for inaction.
Since 2008 when the agency released its last report, Portugal and Sweden have legalised gay marriage, joining Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. Luxembourg and Slovenia are to follow suit.
Austria, Hungary and Ireland are due to join the countries which permit civil partnerships.
However, Bulgaria, Estonia and Romania have toughened legislation against homosexual unions, the report said.