The EU’s highest court gave a ruling declaring that same-sex marriages must be recognized throughout the bloc, delivering a sharp rebuke to Poland for refusing to acknowledge the marriage of two Polish citizens that took place in Germany.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, marks a significant moment for LGBT rights across Europe and intensifies pressure on Poland’s political leadership to align with EU law.
The court found that Poland acted unlawfully when authorities declined to transcribe the couple’s German marriage certificate after they moved back to their home country.
Polish officials had argued that the nation’s domestic laws do not allow marriage between people of the same sex, but the EU judges rejected that justification.
“It infringes not only the freedom to move and reside, but also the fundamental right to respect for private and family life,” the court said, reaffirming that the refusal violated core EU freedoms.
The judges emphasized that EU citizens must be able to maintain a normal family life when relocating between member states and after returning to their country of origin.
The case stemmed from a request by a Polish court, after the two men, identified only by their initials, contested the authorities’ refusal to recognize their marriage.
They had wed in Berlin in 2018 and sought legal recognition upon returning home so that their marital status would be valid under Polish administrative systems.
The couple’s lawyer, Pawel Knut, welcomed the decision, calling it a turning point for equality.
“This ruling is historic,” he said. “It marks a new beginning in the fight for equality and equal treatment for same-sex couples.”
Knut added that the Polish Supreme Administrative Court must now decide whether to perform the transcription, but that he believed Tuesday’s ruling was binding upon it.
While the court made clear that EU member states are not required to legalize same-sex marriage domestically, it stressed that they cannot discriminate against same-sex couples when recognizing marriages performed abroad.
“When they 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,” the judges said.
In Poland, one of Europe’s most socially conservative countries, the struggle for LGBT equality has long been politically charged.
The statements note that in predominantly Catholic Poland, the struggle for LGBT equality for years was branded by those in power as a dangerous foreign ideology.
However, the current government has been working on a bill to regulate civil partnerships, including same-sex unions.
Still, progress has stalled. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-European coalition has struggled to move the proposed legislation forward due to resistance from a conservative coalition partner.
Adding further obstacles, Poland’s nationalist President Karol Nawrocki has declared he would veto any bill that would undermine the constitutionally protected status of marriage.
The ruling is expected to intensify internal debate. For supporters of LGBT rights, it represents a legal and symbolic victory that extends beyond Poland, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to ensuring that citizens’ family rights are upheld across borders.
For Poland’s conservative institutions, it poses a direct challenge to long-standing legal and cultural positions on marriage.
As tens of thousands march in Pride events across Europe, such as the gatherings in Paris where people carry rainbow flags and demand political and social equality, the EU court’s decision adds new momentum to campaigns for broader recognition of same-sex couples.
With Tuesday’s ruling now binding, Poland must determine how to implement it, setting the stage for a pivotal test of the country’s legal relationship with the wider European Union.
