Relationship recognition in Croatia

Croatian prime minister Zora Milanovic has announced that he intends to advance legislation that would allow same-sex couples to form domestic partnerships.

“We are talking about registered partnerships, which is a somewhat higher standard than what we have now,” Milanovic said.

It’s possible this would also open the door to recognising same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

The Associated Press reported Milanovic as saying Croatia will “recognise same-sex marriages”.

Milanovic is a member of the Social Democratic Party, which made a campaign promise to improve standards for LGBT people.

“That was our program. I hope the people of Croatia accept it, it’s simply a form of social empathy and decency and expanding freedom,” he said.

Croatia’s conservative right party, the Croatian Democratic Union, which is strongly influenced by the Catholic Church, stands opposed to marriage equality.

Former prime minister Jadranka Kosor once claimed that Croatia “cannot and will not give consent to the legalisation” of equal marriage.

Croatia held its first ever-gay pride parade in 2011, but it was disrupted by thousands of homophobic protesters.