And just over half of the participants in a recent study say they agree with marriage between gay individuals.

The European Court of Human Rights compelled Romania last year to recognize same-sex families, but no measures have been taken so far.

Romanians have become more empathetic towards the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer) community compared to 2021, according to a study on the Romanians' perception of the rights of this community.

69% of those interviewed believe it is unfair for partners in an LGBTIQ couple not to have the same civil rights as other couples, such as not being able to inherit from their partner or make medical decisions in case of illness or accident.

Victor Ciobotaru - representative of a LGBTIQ family: "I would be the last person to be notified of an accident happening to my partner. I am not considered a family member, and authorities would not consider me the person who should find out what happened to my partner, even though I should be the most appropriate person".

When asked if you would like your child to be able to marry the person they love if they were gay, 55% of Romanians answered affirmatively, more than in previous years.

Raluca Popescu - family sociology expert: "I don't think we need to define family. For each person, family is something else. These couples have always existed ... we don't even know how many".

Paul Acatrini - sociologist: "The relevant increase seems to be the one where from 40% to 56% of Romanians consider that couples from the LGBTIQ community need legal protection either through civil marriage or any other form of protection. I noticed that we moved from the idea of tolerance, of indulgence, of acceptance to the idea of understanding and assuming this reality and wishing to live with this reality".

Last year, Romania was compelled by the ECHR to recognize and protect same-sex families, after 21 LGBTIQ couples sued the Romanian state for not respecting their rights.

Cristian Pîrvulescu - political scientist: "We have the obligation to respect the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides that individual rights are respected, so each person has the right to have their life recognized".

Government representatives have stated that "Romania is not ready" for such a change. Currently, 29% of Romanians know at least one person who has a different sexual orientation.