On Friday, 24 February 2017, the Partner Relationship Act came into force in Slovenia which sadly still does not fully equalize same-sex partnerships with opposite-sex partnerships.

The Partner Relationship Act was adopted in the National Assembly nine months ago. It gives individuals in same-sex partnership unions the majority of rights and obligations the opposite-sex spouses or common-law partners have, for instance the derived right to health care (for which an unfavourable amendment to the Health Care and Health Insurance Act is under preparation), right to leave of absence and compensation for providing care to a close relative, the right to widower’s pension. But still systematic discrimination continues with regard to adopting children and biomedical assisted fertilisation.
In the City of Ljubljana we are stressing that we all have the same human rights therefore it is unacceptable that certain groups or individuals (regardless if they are lesbian, gay, transgender, migrants, unemployed or the Roma) are deprived of their rights or enjoy only limited rights.
The City of Ljubljana will continue to follow the principle of inclusion and equal opportunity and point out any irregularities and inequalities which have already been rectified in the majority of European countries. Here we would mention more forward thinking practices even in countries which are considered much more conservative than Slovenia. Namely, already in 2005 Spain (as the third country after the Netherlands and Belgium) adopted an act enabling same-sex marriage and adoption of children. In Ireland at a referendum in 2015, for instance, the Irish supported same-sex marriage equalizing it with opposite-sex marriage. Since 2013 lesbians and gays in Austria can adopt their partner’s children and since 2016 a same-sex couple can adopt a different child. Biomedical assisted fertilisation is possible in Austria (in 2015 the right was granted to lesbians) and in Hungary were this right is also given to single women regardless of their sexual orientation.
In the City of Ljubljana we hope that equality will soon be established in Slovenia, as well.