The European Union’s highest court on Nov. 25 ruled that all EU member states must respect and recognize same-sex marriage performed elsewhere in the bloc, following Poland’s refusal to acknowledge a marriage between two of its citizens that took place in Germany.
Poland has long been shaped by its predominantly Catholic population and has maintained socially conservative policies for years. Same-sex marriage remains unrecognized in Poland, and only recently did the country roll back the “LGBTQ+ Free Ideology Zones,” introduced by the right-wing Law and Justice Party (LJP), which claimed to protect children from “moral corruption.”
There have been recent efforts by Prime Minister Donald Tusk to legalize civil partnerships, as part of a broader move to expand LGBTQ+ rights and visibility after years of LJP rule, which framed queerness as a “dangerous foreign ideology.” This bill has not yet been enacted, as it still requires approval from Parliament and a signature from Poland’s newly elected conservative president, Karol Nawrocki.
The recent EU court case came to a head after Poland refused to acknowledge and transcribe a German marriage certificate belonging to a same-sex couple who married in Berlin in 2018. The couple’s names have not been made public, Reuters reported.
In its ruling, the European Court of Justice affirmed that while member states are not required to recognize same-sex marriage domestically, they must recognize those performed legally throughout the EU. This, the court said, protects the freedom of movement and family life for EU citizens
“The spouses in question, as EU citizens, enjoy the freedom to move and reside within the territory of the Member States and the right to lead a normal family life when exercising that freedom and upon returning to their Member State of origin,” the court said, according to DW.
Pawel Knut, the couple’s lawyers, noted that it is ultimately up to Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court on whether or not to transcribe the certificate, but President Nawrocki has stated that he would veto “any bill that would undermine the constitutionally protected status of marriage,” according to Reuters.
