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The European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe), an umbrella organisation with a total of 422 member organisations in 45 European countries, is involved politically with the legal and social situation of LGBTI people in Europe. In co-operation with its member organisations, ILGA-Europe publishes Rainbow Europe, an annual index which evaluates the legal position of LGBTI people in European states. With regard to EU Member States, the following information can be gleaned from the index:
1.The legal position of LGBTI people and its development are very heterogeneous within the EU Member States.
2.The EU currently does not play any effective role in structuring LGBTI policy.
3.In spite of progress in Germany since the beginning of the 2000s, progress in LGBTI legislation has stagnated in past years.
4.In comparison with other EU Member States, Germany needs to improve its LGBTI policies.
The first section of the present study will evaluate the overall results of the last issues of the index. The central question here is: how does the legal position of LGBTI people in Germany compare with the situation in other EU states? Then, based on this knowledge, the second section will discuss the following central problem areas:
What role does the EU play in improving the social and legal situation of LGBTI people, and what areas of LGBTI policy require improvement in EU law?
What relevant measures are in place in EU Member States other than Germany for the improvement of the legal position of LGBTI people?
Based on three of the six main areas of the index (equality and non-discrimination, acknowledgement of the family and hate crime and hate speech) the index identifies legal and political measures of LGBTI policy that are not yet applied in Germany in contrast to other EU Member States. As improving LGBTI rights in EU Member States depends not only on legislative decisions of national governments but also on EU law, LGBTI rights at EU level will also be examined.