This year we have turned an important page for European human rights thanks to France and England and Wales, legalizing gay marriage.

But the bigger EU mission is far from accomplished as only eight of the 28 member states of the European Union currently recognize same-sex marriages.

Germany, the largest EU country, is still not allowing it. The German Foreign Minister and Deputy Chancellor Guido Westerwelle and his long-time partner Michael Mronz could only be ‘civil partnered’ when they wed in 2010.

There has been a painful history of struggle to build a tolerant society free from heterosexism and homophobia and to obtain the same basic human rights, attitude and respect all other citizens enjoy.

But one thing is sure from what is already achieved: The human nature cannot escape from its true self that needs to be free and thus the world is destined to fully recognize gay rights. Our own conduct can help to speed up or slowdown this process.

Many gay politicians today proudly state their sexual orientation and there are many compelling cases that have drawn world attention and thus contributed to more tolerant societies.

Earlier this year, Tammy Baldwin, became the first openly lesbian Senator of the United States, an event that was highly commended in American relatively conservative society.

When French politician Bertrand DelanoÃ« in 1998 openly declared he was gay, there were doubts on whether it would damage his political carrier. Three years later he became mayor of Paris and has successfully held on to his post until today.

Democrat congressman Barney Frank became the first member of congress in 1987 to voluntarily come out as gay. Last year, just before retiring, he became the first member of Congress to marry someone of the same sex while in office.

The Obama administration appointed an openly gay diplomat Jeremy Bernard as Social Secretary, the highest-ranking gay person at the White House, a post that previously had always been held by women.

And Johanna Sigurdardottir, became world’s first openly lesbian head of government when she became the first female Prime Minister of Iceland in 2009.

The EU’s 27 foreign affairs ministers has adopted a ground-breaking global policy. The LGBTI Guidelines instruct EU diplomats around the world to defend the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

In the European Parliament there are many well-respected openly gay MEPs. The LGBT Rights Intergroup is, in fact, the second largest inter-parliamentary group in the European Parliament with over 150 registered members.

While in some societies, a layman gay may still prefer to disclose his sexuality, for people holding public offices it is somehow hypocritical to remain closeted. Such attitudes will only delay and even undermine the hard-earned progresses by LGBT activists.

Jean Lambert is a member of the European Parliament’s LGTB intergroup and believes everyone should be granted their basic human rights, including the ability to express their own sexuality. Other outspoken Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are Ulrike Lunacek from the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance from Austria, or Michael Cashman from UK Labour Party, who are jointly chairing the LGTB intergroup, have done well to advance their cause with openness and transparency.

However there is still a tendency to keep secrecy or even deny one’s sexuality especially in center-right and more conservative groups. Ten years ago Nicole Sinclaire, then Member of UK Independence Party, revealed to the Pink Paper her lesbian orientation and that she had been approached by a group of 23 gays in UKIP asking her to lead a gay-wing within the party which she had refused to do.

German MEP Michael Gahler from the center-right EPP group, the biggest political family in the European Parliament, still prefers to be portrayed to his parish church as straight while his Dutch colleague in the same group Wim van den Camp proudly declares himself as both a ‘professed Catholic’ and a ‘convinced homosexual’.

Perhaps we would do better to be more open and honest about ourselves just as the prominent German politician, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit famously coined ‘Ich bin schwul, und das ist auch gut so!’ – I’m gay, and that’s absolutely fine!

On 17 May 2013, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), Euro Members of Parliament reacted to a LGBT survey finding that some member states are blocking EU’s proposed anti-discrimination directive.

‘The EU cannot tolerate shameless discrimination of millions of its citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity,’ Civil Liberties Committee members stressed.

The European Parliament has also recently passed a resolution strongly condemning any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. A look into the voting habits of MEPs on gay issues suggests Poland is the least gay friendly country within EU while Scandinavian countries are among the friendliest.

With the progress made in France and UK this year, countries like Germany will have no choice but to follow suit. Now it is a question of time, and openly LGBT politicians may hold the key.

Ludwig Zimmerman is an anti-discrimination and gay rights activist. He grew up in a Catholic traditional family in Munich Germany but later moved to UK.