The European approach to recognising, downgrading, and erasing same-sex marriages celebrated abroad*

This chapter analyses how European countries that provide some protection for same-sex couples (e.g. civil partnerships, but not marriage) deal with same-sex marriages celebrated abroad. In this respect, there are three models: recognition, downgrading, and erasure. Recognition means that these marriages are recognised as marriages, either for all purposes, or for some of them, e.g. for the exercise of EU freedoms. Romania is the case study, because Coman – the CJEU case that provides a basis for the recognition model – concerned a Romanian case and therefore it is important to see how Member States implement the CJEU’s ruling. ‘Downgrading’ is the model whereby foreign marriages are treated as national civil partnerships. This is based on Orlandi and therefore Italy is the chosen case study. Hungary, finally, represents the ‘erasure’ model whereby same-sex marriages celebrated abroad are not even recognised as civil partnerships. These models are criticised from an EU law, European human rights law, and private international law perspective.