Polish President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed legislation that would have granted limited legal rights to unmarried couples, including those in same-sex relationships.
The proposed system would have marked Poland’s first domestic legal recognition of same-sex couples, although it fell short of introducing civil partnerships or marriage equality.
The two linked bills were backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing coalition and approved by Poland’s lower and upper houses of parliament in May and June. Nawrocki refused to sign them into law on Friday, 17 July.
Bill Offered Limited Rights to Unmarried Partners
The legislation would have allowed same-sex and opposite-sex couples to sign a legal cohabitation agreement before a notary and register it with the state.
Couples would have gained rights covering joint property ownership and tax settlements, access to a partner’s medical information, exemptions from inheritance and gift taxes, and the ability to make decisions about a partner’s burial.
The compromise legislation did not create full civil partnerships and excluded issues involving children, including joint adoption and custody rights.
Nawrocki Says Proposal Threatened Marriage
Explaining his veto, Nawrocki argued the legislation would effectively “introduce civil partnerships through the back door”.
He said the proposed agreements were “intended to replace or substitute the institution of marriage”.
“As the guardian of the constitution, I cannot accept a solution that would lead to the loss of the special status of marriage defined in article 18 of the constitution as a union between a woman and a man, placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland,” Nawrocki said.
The president also argued that unmarried couples would receive some benefits associated with marriage without being subject to the same obligations. He noted that the proposed agreements could be ended more easily than a marriage.
“Marriage, which best secures family stability, cannot become one of many equally valid options offered by the state administration,” he said. “The family is a community fundamental to the survival of the nation.”
Nawrocki said he remained open to legislation offering limited healthcare and administrative rights to loved ones, provided it did not create what he considered an alternative to marriage or introduce broader changes to family law.
Donald Tusk Condemns Veto
Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded by calling the veto “an expression of contempt toward people and their right to happiness and a normal life”.
Equality Minister Katarzyna Kotula accused Nawrocki of “turning his back on the two million Poles living today in informal relationships”.
Kotula promised that the government would continue pursuing legal recognition for LGBTQ+ couples.
“The veto will not halt social change,” she said, adding that when reform “cannot go through the door, then [it will go] through the window”.
Poland Recognising Some Overseas Same-Sex Marriages
Poland has begun recognising same-sex marriages lawfully performed in other European Union countries following a ruling by the EU’s highest court.
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in November 2025 that Poland could not refuse to recognise a marriage between two Polish citizens of the same sex when it had been legally entered into in another EU member state through the exercise of their freedom of movement.
The ruling does not require Poland to introduce marriage equality domestically, but it requires the country to recognise qualifying overseas marriages for rights protected under EU law and to apply its recognition procedures without discrimination.
Kotula said some benefits were still unavailable to those couples but pledged to continue implementing the ruling.
Support for Same-Sex Partnerships Continues to Grow
The veto comes despite increasing public support for recognising same-sex relationships in Poland.
Research published by state polling agency CBOS found that 52 per cent of respondents supported same-sex civil partnerships in 2024, the first time approval had exceeded opposition in its surveys.
A later CBOS poll reported by Notes From Poland found support had climbed to a record 62 per cent in 2025, compared with 25 per cent when the question was first asked in 2011.
However, divisions within Tusk’s governing coalition have complicated attempts to introduce recognition. The Left and Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition broadly support expanded LGBTQ+ rights, while the more conservative Polish People’s Party has resisted full civil partnerships.
The vetoed legislation was already a compromise developed after earlier proposals for formal civil partnerships were watered down.
For now, same-sex couples remain without a comprehensive domestic framework recognising their relationships, despite growing public support and rulings from European courts requiring greater legal protection.
