The European Parliament on Thursday condemned recent instructions by Italy’s ultraconservative government to the Milan town hall to stop registering the children of same-sex couples.
The MEPs are concerned that this decision is “part of a broader attack on the LGBTQI+ community in Italy” and call on the Italian government to immediately reverse its decision.
In an amendment tabled by the Renew Europe group (centrists and liberals), the parliamentarians say they believe this decision “will inevitably lead to discrimination against not only same-sex couples, but also primarily their children.”
They further believe that this action is “a direct breach of the rights of the child,” as laid down in the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
Milan had been registering children of same-sex parents, born either through the use abroad of surrogate motherhood, which is banned in Italy, or through medically assisted reproduction. However, the city’s centre-left mayor, Beppe Sala, said he stopped the registrations after the Interior Ministry told him it was up to the courts to decide.
Same-sex unions were legalised in Italy in 2016, but not the right to adopt. Decisions about children are taken on a case-by-case basis by the courts, but sometimes local authorities have taken the initiative, as in Milan, to act unilaterally.
Since coming to power in 2022, Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has placed a strong emphasis on traditional family values.
