The European Union’s top court delivered a major decision Tuesday, telling Poland it was wrong to refuse recognition of a same-sex marriages performed in Germany. The EU court rebuked Poland for their failure to acknowledge those marriages.
The case involved two Polish citizens who married in Berlin in 2018 and later returned home, only to find Polish authorities rejecting their request to register their marriage. The court said that decision violated core EU freedoms. “It infringes not only the freedom to move and reside, but also the fundamental right to respect for private and family life,” the EU court of justice ruled.
Poland, a country where debates over LGBT rights have been politically charged for years, has long held that its domestic law does not permit marriage between people of the same sex. But the EU court stressed that free movement rules apply across the bloc. If citizens “create a family life in a host member state, in particular by virtue of marriage, they must have the certainty to be able to pursue that family life upon returning to their member state of origin,” judges said, according to The Guardian.
The ruling does not force EU governments to legalize same-sex marriage in their own national law. Instead, it bars them from discriminating against foreign same-sex marriages when dealing with returning citizens. The decision was issued at the request of a Polish court reviewing the couple’s challenge. Their lawyer declined to comment after the judgment.
Poland’s government has recently tried to advance legislation on civil partnerships, including same-sex unions, though efforts have stalled. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition has faced internal pushback from conservative partners.
President Karol Nawrocki has already made his position clear. He has repeatedly stated that “marriage is a union between a man and a woman,” and has pledged to veto “any bill that would undermine the constitutionally protected status of marriage.” During his 2025 campaign, he said: “There is a male sex and a female sex. And if anyone defies that, they don't understand the present, the past, or the future.”
He also opposes recognizing same-sex civil unions or expanding legal rights for same-sex couples, citing what he calls Catholic sexual ethics as his basis.
The case involved two Polish citizens who married in Berlin in 2018 and later returned home, only to find Polish authorities rejecting their request to register their marriage. The court said that decision violated core EU freedoms. “It infringes not only the freedom to move and reside, but also the fundamental right to respect for private and family life,” the EU court of justice ruled.
Poland, a country where debates over LGBT rights have been politically charged for years, has long held that its domestic law does not permit marriage between people of the same sex. But the EU court stressed that free movement rules apply across the bloc. If citizens “create a family life in a host member state, in particular by virtue of marriage, they must have the certainty to be able to pursue that family life upon returning to their member state of origin,” judges said, according to The Guardian.
The ruling does not force EU governments to legalize same-sex marriage in their own national law. Instead, it bars them from discriminating against foreign same-sex marriages when dealing with returning citizens. The decision was issued at the request of a Polish court reviewing the couple’s challenge. Their lawyer declined to comment after the judgment.
Poland’s government has recently tried to advance legislation on civil partnerships, including same-sex unions, though efforts have stalled. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition has faced internal pushback from conservative partners.
President Karol Nawrocki has already made his position clear. He has repeatedly stated that “marriage is a union between a man and a woman,” and has pledged to veto “any bill that would undermine the constitutionally protected status of marriage.” During his 2025 campaign, he said: “There is a male sex and a female sex. And if anyone defies that, they don't understand the present, the past, or the future.”
He also opposes recognizing same-sex civil unions or expanding legal rights for same-sex couples, citing what he calls Catholic sexual ethics as his basis.
