EU court affirms rights of same-sex couples across member states

The European Union’s highest court ruled on November 25 that same-sex marriages must be recognised across the bloc, delivering a rebuke to Poland for refusing to acknowledge a marriage between two of its citizens that took place in Germany.

According to foreign media, the court found that Poland acted improperly by not recognising the couple’s marriage when they returned to the country, citing Polish law’s prohibition on same-sex marriage. 

“It infringes not only the freedom to move and reside, but also the fundamental right to respect for private and family life,” the ruling stated.

In Poland, a predominantly Catholic country, efforts to advance LGBT equality have long been criticised by political leaders as promoting a foreign ideology. Despite this, the current government has been working on legislation to regulate civil partnerships, including same-sex unions.

The ruling by the EU Court of Justice was made following a request from a Polish court handling the case of the couple, who challenged the refusal to transcribe their German marriage certificate into the Polish registry. The couple, who married in Berlin in 2018, have been identified only by their initials in the proceedings.

“This ruling is historic,” said Pawel Knut, the couple’s lawyer. “It marks a new beginning in the fight for equality and equal treatment for same-sex couples.”

Knut added that Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court must now decide whether to perform the transcription, but he believes the EU court’s decision is binding.

The EU court emphasised that citizens have the right to move freely within member states and maintain a “normal family life” both in host countries and upon returning to their country of origin. “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 ruling noted.

The court clarified that this does not obligate member states to legalise same-sex marriage domestically. However, countries cannot discriminate against same-sex couples in recognising foreign marriages.

Poland’s pro-European Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has faced resistance from his conservative coalition partner in pushing legislation on civil unions, while nationalist President Karol Nawrocki has vowed to veto any bill that “would undermine the constitutionally protected status of marriage.”

By Tamilla Hasanova