Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers to Review Romania's Refusal to Recognize LGBT Families
From September 15 to 17, 2026, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, will analyze the reasons why Romanian authorities continue to refuse to implement the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling on the recognition of same-sex families.
Representatives of the Romanian human rights organization ACCEPT, including Executive Director Victor Ciobotaru and lawyer Anca Baltac, as well as plaintiff Florin Buhuceanu, arrived in Strasbourg to present the consequences of the lack of legal recognition. According to a statement by ACCEPT , hundreds of thousands of Romanian citizens are deprived of basic rights: they cannot make medical decisions for their partners, inherit property, or protect their children.
“Our families already exist, raise children, care for parents, and build lives together. However, the Romanian state denies them the legal protection it provides to other families. We face a deliberate refusal by the authorities to treat us as equal citizens in our own country,” noted Florin Buhuceanu.
The ECHR ruling in the case “Buhuceanu, Ciobotaru and 20 other families v. Romania,” issued in 2023, obliges the country to create a legal framework for the recognition and protection of same-sex couples. However, the government has yet to take appropriate action.
Additionally, the Committee of Ministers will review the implementation of other ECHR rulings regarding Romania. These include a 2016 case on the authorities’ obligation to investigate hate crimes and a 2021 case on protecting freedom of assembly for Pride participants. Human rights defenders point to ongoing issues, mentioning the assault of a French transgender influencer in a Bucharest police station in June 2026, as well as the four-year ban on Pride events in the city of Oradea.
The meetings will also address the late 2025 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which required all EU member states to recognize marriage certificates issued in other member states, including those of same-sex couples. The ACCEPT association is currently assisting dozens of families in seeking transcription of such documents from Romanian authorities, but the process is being artificially delayed.
Following the session, the Committee of Ministers may request additional information, formulate new recommendations, or initiate an enhanced supervision procedure against Romania.
