In a historic decision, the EU's highest court has ruled that all member states must recognize the familial ties of LGBT+ couples and their children to guarantee them freedom of movement in the bloc.

The case was triggered by the refusal from EU member state Bulgaria to give citizenship to the infant daughter of a Bulgarian-British same-sex couple.

The two married women live in Spain, where their baby girl Sara was also born. Spain issued a birth certificate that recognizes both women as her mothers, but unfortunately under Spanish law Sara could not receive Spanish citizenship.

She could not receive British citizenship either, as according to UK law someone born in Gibraltar, like Sara's mother, cannot pass on their British citizenship to their baby if the child hasn't been born in either Gibraltar or the UK.

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The only option left to avoid the girl remaining stateless and allow her freedom of movement across the bloc was to get Bulgarian citizenship, but authorities refused on the basis that the country does not recognize same-sex marriages, including ones conducted abroad.

Bulgaria told the two mothers that if they wanted a Bulgarian birth certificate for their daughter, a necessary step to get the country's citizenship, only the name of the biological mother of the baby will appear on the certificate. 

The couple refused and decided to fight the decision.

The Bulgarian mother took the case to Sofia's Administrative Court, which decided earlier this year to consult the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg on the issue.

"The Member State of which the child is a national is obliged to issue an identity card or a passport to that child without requiring a birth certificate to be drawn up beforehand by its national authorities," the CJEU ruled on Tuesday.

The two mothers welcomed the decision as "a huge step for all LGBTQ families in Bulgaria and Europe."

It's now up to Sofia's tribunal to decide whether to rule in conformity with the EU court.

Cover picture: Kyodo via Reuters