On March 22nd, 1982, Greece established civil marriage for the first time (prior to that point, religious weddings were the only legal form of marriage). When drafting the 1982 law, legislators wrote that a civil marriage was a contract between "two persons" (δύο πρόσωπα), rather than explicitly specifying a "man and a woman". In the 2000s, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups realized that under a strictly literal reading of the statute, nothing in the written civil law prohibited two men or two women from getting married. Taking advantage of this loophole, Anastasios Aliferis, the Mayor of the island of Tilos, with the support of the LGBTQ+ organization OLKE, agreed to perform the civil marriages of two same-sex couples on June 3rd, 2008. However, the government and senior prosecutors immediately intervened, declaring the marriages invalid, with the Court of First Instance of Rhodes annulling them in May 2009. In April 2006, the President of the then official opposition party, PASOK, proposed to the Hellenic Parliament the legal recognition of both unmarried same-sex and heterosexual couples. However, this project was not accepted by the LGBTQ+ organizations of the time, because it prohibited the joint adoption of children. Eventually, the "cohabitation agreement" (σύμφωνο συμβίωσης), Greece's first legal non-marital partnership option, corresponding to what is internationally most commonly known as a "civil union", was instituted on November 26, 2008 by the then ruling party, New Democracy, but only available to heterosexual couples. Even though the courts struck down the aforementioned Tilos marriages, the attempt itself was a strategic victory for the LGBTQ+ movement in Greece. It stripped away the government's ability to ignore the legal recognition of same-sex couples, thrusting the issue into mainstream political debate, while the married couples took their case to the European Court of Human Rights which held in 2013 that Greece’s 2008 cohabitation agreement law violated the European Convention on Human Rights by discriminating against same-sex couples. This international ruling forced Greece's hand, directly paving the way for the 2015 civil unions law. extension of the civil unions law.

On March 22nd, 1982, Greece established civil marriage for the first time (prior to that point, religious weddings were the only legal form of marriage). When drafting the 1982 law, legislators wrote that a civil marriage was a contract between "two persons" (δύο πρόσωπα), rather than explicitly specifying a "man and a woman". In the 2000s, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups realized that under a strictly literal reading of the statute, nothing in the written civil law prohibited two men or two women from getting married. Taking advantage of this loophole, Anastasios Aliferis, the Mayor of the island of Tilos, with the support of the LGBTQ+ organization OLKE, agreed to perform the civil marriages of two same-sex couples on June 3rd, 2008. However, the government and senior prosecutors immediately intervened, declaring the marriages invalid, with the Court of First Instance of Rhodes annulling them in May 2009. In April 2006, the President of the then official opposition party, PASOK, proposed to the Hellenic Parliament the legal recognition of unmarried same-sex or heterosexual couples. However, this project was not accepted by the LGBTQ+ organizations of the time, because it prohibited the joint adoption of children. Eventually, the "cohabitation agreement" (σύμφωνο συμβίωσης), Greece's first legal non-marital partnership option, corresponding to what is internationally most commonly known as a "civil union", was instituted on November 26, 2008 by the then ruling party, New Democracy, but only available to heterosexual couples. Even though the courts struck down the aforementioned Tilos marriages, the attempt itself was a strategic victory for the LGBTQ+ movement in Greece. It stripped away the government's ability to ignore the legal recognition of same-sex couples, thrusting the issue into mainstream political debate, while the married couples took their case to the European Court of Human Rights which held in 2013 that Greece’s 2008 cohabitation agreement law violated the European Convention on Human Rights by discriminating against same-sex couples. This international ruling forced Greece's hand, directly paving the way for the 2015 civil unions law. both unmarried same-sex and heterosexual couples. However, this project was not accepted by the LGBTQ+ organizations of the time, because it prohibited the joint adoption of children. Eventually, the "cohabitation agreement" (σύμφωνο συμβίωσης), Greece's first legal non-marital partnership option, corresponding to what is internationally most commonly known as a "civil union", was instituted on November 26, 2008 by the then ruling party, New Democracy, but only available to heterosexual couples. Even though the courts struck down the aforementioned Tilos marriages, the attempt itself was a strategic victory for the LGBTQ+ movement in Greece. It stripped away the government's ability to ignore the legal recognition of same-sex couples, thrusting the issue into mainstream political debate, while the married couples took their case to the European Court of Human Rights which held in 2013 that Greece’s 2008 cohabitation agreement law violated the European Convention on Human Rights by discriminating against same-sex couples. This international ruling forced Greece's hand, directly paving the way for the 2015 civil unions law.

On March 22nd, 1982, Greece established civil marriage for the first time (prior to that point, religious weddings were the only legal form of marriage). When drafting the 1982 law, legislators wrote that a civil marriage was a contract between "two persons" (δύο πρόσωπα), rather than explicitly specifying a "man and a woman". In the 2000s, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups realized that under a strictly literal reading of the statute, nothing in the written civil law prohibited two men or two women from getting married. Taking advantage of this loophole, Anastasios Aliferis, the Mayor of the island of Tilos, with the support of the LGBTQ+ organization OLKE, agreed to perform the civil marriages of two same-sex couples on June 3rd, 2008. However, the government and senior prosecutors immediately intervened, declaring the marriages invalid, with Greek courts annulling them in May 2009. In April 2006, the President of the then official opposition party, PASOK, proposed to the Hellenic Parliament the legal recognition of unmarried same-sex or heterosexual couples. However, this project was not accepted by the LGBTQ+ organizations of the time, because it prohibited the joint adoption of children. Eventually, the "cohabitation agreement" (σύμφωνο συμβίωσης), Greece's first legal non-marital partnership option, corresponding to what is internationally most commonly known as a "civil union", was instituted on November 26, 2008 by the then ruling party, New Democracy, but only available to heterosexual couples. Even though the courts struck down the aforementioned Tilos marriages, the attempt itself was a strategic victory for the LGBTQ+ movement in Greece. It stripped away the government's ability to ignore the legal recognition of same-sex couples, thrusting the issue into mainstream political debate, while the married couples took their case to the European Court of Human Rights which held in 2013 that Greece’s 2008 cohabitation agreement law violated the European Convention on Human Rights by discriminating against same-sex couples. This international ruling forced Greece's hand, directly paving the way for the 2015 civil unions law. First Instance of Rhodes annulling them in May 2009. In April 2006, the President of the then official opposition party, PASOK, proposed to the Hellenic Parliament the legal recognition of unmarried same-sex or heterosexual couples. However, this project was not accepted by the LGBTQ+ organizations of the time, because it prohibited the joint adoption of children. Eventually, the "cohabitation agreement" (σύμφωνο συμβίωσης), Greece's first legal non-marital partnership option, corresponding to what is internationally most commonly known as a "civil union", was instituted on November 26, 2008 by the then ruling party, New Democracy, but only available to heterosexual couples. Even though the courts struck down the aforementioned Tilos marriages, the attempt itself was a strategic victory for the LGBTQ+ movement in Greece. It stripped away the government's ability to ignore the legal recognition of same-sex couples, thrusting the issue into mainstream political debate, while the married couples took their case to the European Court of Human Rights which held in 2013 that Greece’s 2008 cohabitation agreement law violated the European Convention on Human Rights by discriminating against same-sex couples. This international ruling forced Greece's hand, directly paving the way for the 2015 civil unions law.

On March 22nd, 1982, Greece established civil marriage for the first time (prior to that point, religious weddings were the only legal form of marriage). When drafting the 1982 law, legislators wrote that a civil marriage was a contract between "two persons" (δύο πρόσωπα), rather than explicitly specifying a "man and a woman". In the 2000s, progressive lawyers and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups realized that under a strictly literal reading of the statute, nothing in the written civil law prohibited two men or two women from getting married. Taking advantage of this loophole, Anastasios Aliferis, the Mayor of the island of Tilos, with the support of the LGBTQ+ organization OLKE, agreed to perform the civil marriages of two same-sex couples on June 3rd, 2008. However, the government and senior prosecutors immediately intervened, declaring the marriages invalid, with Greek courts annulling them in May 2009. In April 2006, the President of the then official opposition party, PASOK, proposed to the Hellenic Parliament the legal recognition of unmarried same-sex or heterosexual couples. However, this project was not accepted by the LGBTQ+ organizations of the time, because it prohibited the joint adoption of children. Eventually, the "cohabitation agreement" (σύμφωνο συμβίωσης), Greece's first legal non-marital partnership option, corresponding to what is internationally most commonly known as a "civil union", was instituted on November 26, 2008 by the then ruling party, New Democracy, but only available to heterosexual couples. Even though the courts struck down the aforementioned Tilos marriages, the attempt itself was a strategic victory for the LGBTQ+ movement in Greece. It stripped away the government's ability to ignore the legal recognition of same-sex couples, thrusting the issue into mainstream political debate, while the married couples took their case to the European Court of Human Rights which held in 2013 that Greece’s 2008 cohabitation agreement law violated the European Convention on Human Rights by discriminating against same-sex couples. This international ruling forced Greece's hand, directly paving the way for the 2015 civil unions law.

Cohabitation agreement, corresponding to civil union, was instituted in Greece, in November 26, 2008, only available to opposite-sex couples. In April 2006, former President of the PA.SO.K. party, George Papandreou proposed to Parliament the recognition of unmarried same-sex or heterosexual couples. However, the project was not accepted by the LGBT organizations as it was considered that it would not have any benefit in their rights, since it prohibited the adoption of children. 1982, Greece established civil marriage for the first time (prior to tha point, religious weddings were the only legal form of marriage). When drafting the 1982 law, legislators wrote that a civil marriage was a contract between "two persons" (δύο πρόσωπα), rather than explicitly specifying a "man and a woman". In 2000s, progressive lawyers and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups realized that under a strict literal reading of the statute, nothing in the written civil law prohibited two men or two women from getting married. Taking advantage of this loophole, Anastasios Aliferis, the progressive Mayor of the island of Tilos, with the support of the LGBTQ+ organization OLKE, agreed to perform civil marriages for two same-sex couples. However, the government and senior prosecutors immediately intervened, declaring the marriages invalid, and Greek courts formally annulled them in May 2009. In April 2006, the President of the then official opposition party, proposed to the Hellenic Parliament the legal recognition of unmarried same-sex or heterosexual couples. However, the project was not accepted by the LGBTQ organizations of the time, because it prohibited the joint adoption of children. Eventually, the "cohabitation agreement" (σύμφωνο συμβίωσης), Greece's first legal non-marital partnership option, corresponding to what is internationally most commonly known as a "civil union", was instituted on November 26, 2008 by the then ruling party, but only available to heterosexual couples. Even though the courts struck down the aforementioned Tilos marriages, the attempt itself was a strategic victory for the LGBTQ+ movement in Greece. It stripped away the government's ability to ignore the legal recognition of same-sex couples, thrusting the issue into mainstream political debate, while the married couples took their case to the European Court of Human Rights which held in 2013 that Greece’s 2008 cohabitation agreement law violated the European Convention on Human Rights by discriminating against same-sex couples. This international ruling forced Greece's hand, directly paving the way for the 2015 civil unions law.

Cohabitation agreement, corresponding to civil union was instituted in Greece, in November 26, 2008, only available to opposite-sex couples. In April 2006, former President of the PA.SO.K. party, George Papandreou proposed to Parliament the recognition of unmarried same-sex or heterosexual couples. However, the project was not accepted by the LGBT organizations as it was considered that it would not have any benefit in their rights, since it prohibited the adoption of children. union, was instituted in Greece, in November 26, 2008, only available to opposite-sex couples. In April 2006, former President of the PA.SO.K. party, George Papandreou proposed to Parliament the recognition of unmarried same-sex or heterosexual couples. However, the project was not accepted by the LGBT organizations as it was considered that it would not have any benefit in their rights, since it prohibited the adoption of children.