When our project started in 2002, nine European countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, The Netherlands, France, Germany, Finland and Belgium) had provided the legal right for same-sex couples to register their union in front of a representative of the State. By such registration the partners take on certain duties and gain certain legal rights.

The overall project intends by comparing same-sex and different-sex couples in these nine countries, to carry out an international and multidisciplinary comparative analysis on the possible conditions of registering these unions. This project aims to bring:

· A better knowledge of the field of application of registered partnerships and marriage laws and their appropriation by the people concerned ·
· A better knowledge of homosexual life in a field not as well-known as others: couples (or coupling)
· A better knowledge and articulation between the public domain, where the policies of social recognition and social protection are elaborated, and private relations between individuals ·
· A better comparison of homosexual and heterosexual couples, which is likely to explain future evolutions of conjugality and family in Europe.

We have so far organised a multidisciplinary conference in September 2003 in Stockholm and a second one will take place in Paris in December 2006.
Information on these conferences is available in the Conference section.
Different publications are available in the Publication section included the proceedings of the Stockholm conference.