Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk has confirmed that the country will begin recognising same-sex marriages performed in other European Union countries, following major rulings from both the Court of Justice of the European Union and Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court.
The November 2025 ruling from the European Court of Justice and the 20 March ruling from Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court, known as the NSA, stem from a case involving a married same-sex Polish couple.
The couple’s German marriage certificate, issued in 2018, had previously been refused entry into Poland’s civil registry.
Tusk apologises to same-sex couples
Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 12 May, Tusk apologised for what he described as the “years of rejection and humiliation” experienced by same-sex couples in Poland.
“[This is] a matter of human dignity: the right to happiness, the right to equal treatment by the state,” he said, according to Notes from Poland.
“I would like to apologise to all those who, for many, many years, felt rejected and humiliated. For many years, the state has failed the test.”
Tusk said his government would make compliance with the court rulings a priority, while stressing that any legal changes would be implemented within the framework of existing Polish law.
A historic shift for Poland
The rulings mark a significant shift for Poland, one of the few remaining EU countries that still does not legally recognise same-sex unions domestically.
While the decisions do not require Poland to legalise same-sex marriage within the country, they do require it to recognise marriages that were legally performed elsewhere in the European Union.
Last month, following the Supreme Administrative Court ruling, officials were ordered to formally register the German marriage at the centre of the case within 30 days.
That decision created Poland’s first de facto state-recognised same-sex marriage.
For LGBTQ+ advocates, the move represents an important legal and symbolic breakthrough after years of exclusion. However, Poland still faces wider pressure to introduce domestic recognition for same-sex couples and provide equal protections under national law.
