The Polish center-left coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk unveiled on Friday a compromise proposal for recognizing same-sex couples. According to the plan, two adults, including same-sex couples, could sign an individual contract before a notary. The couples would then be protected in matters such as inheritance, could file taxes jointly, or gain access to each other’s medical information. However, they would not be allowed to share a common surname, and they would not be able to jointly adopt children.
The draft is a compromise among the governing parties, spanning from left to liberal to conservative. Social Democratic State Secretary Katarzyna Kotula, a proponent of LGBT rights, said that they had “met conservatives halfway.” Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz of the conservative PSL said the draft could win support across the entire political spectrum.
President against “Alternative to Marriage”
Nevertheless, it is considered unlikely that the proposal will receive the blessing of President Karol Nawrocki, who was elected last year as a candidate of the right-populist PiS party. His chief of staff Paweł Szefernaker stated on Sunday via X that the president “will not endorse any solution that would create an alternative to marriage.” Many of the rights would “belong exclusively to marriage.”
Prezydent Karol Nawrocki przedstawi w trakcie kampanii jasny pogld na spraw uregulowania statusu osoby najbliszej. Maenstwo i rodzina znajduj si pod ochron i opiek Rzeczypospolitej i to stanowi fundament dla dyskusji nad projektem ustawy o statusie osoby najbliszej.
Pawe Szefernaker (@szefernaker) October 19, 2025
PiS speaks of “ultra-left solution”
Also the PiS party has started to mobilize against the draft: PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński described the proposal on X as an “ultra-left solution” that attacks the (heterosexual) family. “The proposal to finalize civil partnerships before a notary is not only evidently unconstitutional, but also aims to replace traditional marriage with pseudo-partnerships.”
To override the president’s veto, a three-fifths majority in Parliament is required, which the current coalition government does not have. It would need support from parts of PiS.
Poland is currently, alongside Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Lithuania, one of only five EU countries that have not yet officially allowed the registration of same-sex couples. Same-sex marriages performed abroad are not recognized either. Accordingly, Poland appears to be violating European law according to an EU opinion from April (reported by TheColu.mn). The background is the lawsuit of two men who married in Berlin and now want to live in Poland. The non-recognition limits the men from moving freely within the EU, which is one of the Union’s fundamental rights, the opinion states. The European Court of Justice is expected to decide the case soon. (dk)
