Sexual equality one step closer

9.31.35am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 3rd Apr 2008

London's Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford has welcomed a big boost to the rights of same-sex couples given by the EU's court, the European Court of Justice. This is the first time the ECJ has ruled on the rights of civil partners.

It has ruled that under EU legislation on equality in employment, gay partners in a legal relationship are entitled to the same occupational 'survivor's pension' as a widow or widower in all EU states that treat same-sex partnerships as similar to marriage. This follows an appeal by a German citizen against the refusal of his deceased partner's employer to pay the pension.

Commenting on the ruling, Baroness Ludford, who is a member of the European Parliament's Gay and Lesbian intergroup, said:

"This ruling has brought true sexual equality one step closer in the EU. While the judgement relies on national law viewing same sex partnerships as legally equivalent to marriage which is not yet the case in all 27 Member states, it represents another building-block in the construction of an equal opportunities Europe."

"I hope the ruling encourages those member states which do not legally recognise same-sex relationships to change their attitude."