Could civil partnerships for same-sex couples in Romania be on the way? A leading politician gave a speech in the Eastern European country’s Parliament Monday suggesting as much.

Liviu Dragnea, leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party, said the country could not ‘pretend that this minority does not exist. ‘I would like for us to discuss the opportunity to legalize civil partnerships. I asked Victor Negrescu (minister for European Affairs) to meet with NGOs representing this minority in order to get to pass proper legislation to sort this thing out.’

At the same time as making his comments on civil partnerships, Dragnea said the Parliament will push ahead with introducing a law to hold a referendum on whether the Romanian constitution should be amended to ban same-sex marriage.

Coinciding with Dragnea’s comments, the National Council for Combating Discrimination yesterday issued a press release announcing it has drafted legislation to legalize civil partnerships.

Dragnea’s comments followed a statement made yesterday morning by the Romanian Deputy Prime Minister, Paul Stanescu. He said the proposed referendum to change the constitution and ban gay marriages will take place in May.

The Romanian constitution currently states that a marriage is between spouses. Opponents of same-sex marriage in the country want to amend the constitution so that it explicitly states marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

Dragnea’s comments about civil partnership were immediately seized upon by the Romanian Orthodox Church. Read more via Gay Star News