Slovakia Stands Alone in Ensuring EU Will Not Force Recognition of Gay ‘Marriage’

BRUSSELS, November 3, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan presented a declaration refusing to accept homosexual unions Tuesday at a European Union meeting of foreign affairs ministers.  Kukan indicated that the Slovak reservations were not supported by any of the other 24 EU countries.  The action of the Slovak Minister has ensured that Slovakia will not have to recognize registered partnerships or ‘marriages’ of homosexuals approved in other EU nations.  A unilateral declaration concerning the reservation will be attached to the EU harmonization document, The Hague Programme.  “The unilateral statement has been agreed on to have one hundred percent guarantee that nothing like this [recognition of homosexual unions] can happen, not even indirectly,” the Foreign Minister said.  The Slovak Justice Minister Daniel Lipsic concurred and urged that jurisdiction over family law remain with individual states.  “Family law is such a sensitive issue that it should remain within the domain of the member states since it concerns traditions, culture and values,” Lipsic said.  jhw