The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Greece to allow same-sex couples to enter into the same civil unions it allows for same-sex couples.

Greece has had opposite-sex civil unions since 2008 for heterosexuals who do not wish to marry and the European court in Strasbourg found that it was discriminatory for Greece to not allow same-sex couples the same access.

 However the court stopped short of finding that the European Convention on Human Rights contains a wider legal right to the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Europe.

 Activist Grigoris Valliantos, who brought the legal action against Greece with his partner, praised the court’s decision.

Read more at gaystarnews.com and wsj.com