The European Union’s (EU) highest court ruled that Poland and other member states that ban same-sex marriages must recognize such marriages if they were “lawfully concluded in another member state.”
Countries such as Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, member states of the EU, have legislation banning such marriages.
In 2018, two men from Poland traveled to Germany and were married in 2018. The issue came to the EU’s highest court when the two Polish citizens returned to Poland, and their marriage certificate was denied recognition.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Nov. 25 that marriage rights decisions remained under member states’ control but “countries were required to comply with EU law in exercising that competence.”
While Poland’s justice minister confirmed that the government will implement the ruling, the office of President Karol Nawrocki declared that Poland “will not succumb to the terror of rainbow rulings.”
“There is a very high risk that this is a very dangerous precedent that will seek to impose rainbow marriages on Poles … which will completely destroy the family,” the office stated.
Adam Andruszkiewicz, Nawrocki’s deputy chief of staff, said that the ruling was an “attempt to circumvent” the Polish constitution and “introduce social engineering.”
Andruszkiewicz mentioned a major speech by Nawrocki days before the ruling. During the speech, he called for reform in the EU and argued that the EU was progressively attempting to “dictate the terms” of the political and judicial systems within the member states.
If the EU deems Poland in violation of implementing the ruling, the country could face ongoing fines until it complies.
The extent of the EU’s power has been contested by Poland throughout 2025.
Early this month, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by prohibiting abortions done on the basis of an unborn baby’s disability.
In May, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland signed a letter criticizing the reach of the ECHR for immigration laws. In the letter, they called for “a new and open-minded conversation about the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
