VIDEO: Gay Couple Fights for Right to Live in EU

Today, Adrian and Clai finally have a chance to celebrate. The same-sex couple married in Belgium in 2010, but decided they wanted to live in Adrian’s native Romania (Clai is American). The kicker – Romania, which does not recognize same-sex marriage, refused to uphold their right to live there. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in their favor. It’s an important milestone, but not the end of the road. European Union rules generally allow the non-EU spouse of a citizen to live and work anywhere in its jurisdiction of 28 member states if they accompany their EU citizen partner. But when Adrian and Clai wanted to move to Romania, Romanian authorities refused to accept that Clai was Adrian’s spouse. They therefore denied them the right to live in Romania and to freedom of movement guaranteed within the EU –rights that would not have been questioned if Adrian married a woman.