Brussels - The majority of EU states, including the Republic of Ireland, deny same-sex partners of EU citizens the full right to move to join them as they do not recognise homosexual unions, the European Commission said yesterday.

"If a union is recognised in one member state, then another member should in principle accept that union," justice commissioner Jacques Barrot told a news conference. EU citizens have the right to live in any of the union's 27 states with their family but that does not apply in all states to the registered partners of homosexual citizens.

A commission report showed that 14 states - Ireland, Germany, Austria, France, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Cyprus, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, Slovenia and Latvia - do not give full entry and residence rights to partners of same-sex couples. Mr Barrot said the situation varied widely among the 14 states, with some allowing same-sex partners into the country and others imposing excessively strict requirements