has recognised same-sex unions since 9 December 2015 by allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil cohabitations. A bill to establish civil cohabitations was approved by the Cypriot Parliament on 26 November 2015. The law took effect on 9 December 2015 upon publication in the country's official gazette.
Civil cohabitation
In 2010, the Permanent Secretary at the Interior Ministry, Lazaros Savvides, indicated that the Cypriot Government would begin examining the issue of whether same-sex marriage should be made legal in the country. This was followed in 2013 by an announcement by the Interior Minister, Eleni Mavrou, that her officials were working on a parliamentary bill proposing the creation of civil partnerships, rather than extending the right to marry to same-sex couples. The Cypriot Government subsequently accepted the draft bill. In March of that year, newly elected President Nicos Anastasiades reaffirmed his support for the bill. In November 2013, the Interior Minister, Socratis Hasikos, confirmed that the bill remained on the government agenda, with a draft prepared and sent to other ministries for review. The intention was to hold a parliamentary vote in April 2014, but, by June 2014, the bill had still not been submitted. According to the Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Constantinos Nicolaides, the bill should have been completed in April, but was still being drafted. In July 2014, Hasikos clarified that a proposed bill would need consensus from all parties before moving forward. He gave all parties a copy of the bill and asked that they study it in time for a second meeting that same September. Hasikos stressed that he would not hold a vote until he was sure all parties were in favour. In March 2014, the head of the Orthodox Church in Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, signalled his opposition to plans to introduce either civil partnership or marriage rights, urging churches to take a stand against homosexuality and accusing secular governments of "weakening moral integrity" through acknowledging equal rights to homosexuals: "When, for example, governments legalise not only plain civil partnership but ‘homosexual marriage’, the Church must be unequivocal in condemning homosexuality." On 6 May 2015, the Cypriot Cabinet approved a gender-neutral "cohabitation agreement" bill with many of the rights of marriage. On 6 June 2015, the ruling partyDISY announced their support for the partnership law. The bill had its first reading on 18 June 2015. On 1 July 2015, Parliament decided to rename the proposed partnership recognition scheme to "civil cohabitation". The second reading was initially planned to be held on 9 July, but was postponed until autumn. The bill had its second and third reading on 26 November 2015 and passed in a 39-12 vote with 3 abstentions. It was published in the official gazette on 9 December 2015 and took effect upon publication.
Statistics
The country's first civil cohabitation was registered on 29 January 2016 by two women. The first public ceremony was held on 4 March 2016 by two men in the capital city ofNicosia. By 18 April 2016, eight same-sex civil cohabitations were registered. From January to October 2016, approximately 70 same-sex couples had registered their unions in the country. Civil cohabitations are also very popular among different-sex couples. By August 2017, for instance, heterosexual couples represented about 70% of all couples, while same-sex couples made up the remaining 30%.
Public opinion
The 2006 Eurobarometer found that only 14% of Cypriots were in favour of same-sex marriage. This was the third lowest in the European Union at the time. The 2015 Eurobarometer found that support had increased to 37%, while 56% were against legalising same-sex marriage. With regards to civil unions, a 2014 survey found that 53.3% of Cypriots supported civil unions or partnerships for same-sex couples. The 2019 Eurobarometer found that 36% of Cypriots thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, 60% were against.
