Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Italy’s right-wing government has told Milan’s city council to stop registering same-sex parents’ children, re-igniting a debate around Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s conservative agenda.
Italy legalized same-sex civil unions in 2016, overriding opposition from Catholic and conservative groups, yet it fell short of giving them adoption rights, fearing that it would encourage surrogate pregnancies, which remain illegal.
In the absence of clear legislation on the issue some courts have ruled in favor of allowing same-sex couples to adopt each others’ children, and mayors of some cities, including Milan, have registered surrogate births to same-sex couples.
Ahead of tonight’s debate in the European Parliament, the Renew Europe Group condemns Italian Prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s attack on rainbow families. Her decision, demanding the city council of Milan to stop registering children of same-sex parents, is unacceptable and must be undone.
Nicola Danti (Italia Viva, Italy), Renew Europe Vice-President, said:
”It will lead to discrimination of not only same-sex couples, but ultimately also their children. Meloni’s government chooses to play games with their rights, in direct breach of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. All families come in different shapes and forms and we have a responsibility to fully guarantee their rights everywhere in the EU.”
The Renew Europe group has tabled an amendment to tomorrow’s plenary vote on the Rule of Law report for 2022, urging the European Parliament to demand that Meloni reverses the decision.
Moritz Körner (FDP, Germany), shadow rapporteur on the Rule of Law report for 2022, said:
“Georgia Meloni is trying hard to shed her far-right stripes, but the reality is more sinister. We see increased attacks on press freedom, rainbow families, and the LGBTIQ community that deserve to be condemned. We want the European Parliament to demand she reverses her attack on same-sex adoption. The EPP, which has courted Meloni, has a special obligation to join us and stand up for a true LGBTIQ freedom zone in Europe.”