The European Union’s top court has ruled that all member states must recognize same-sex marriages performed within the bloc.
According to CNN report, the judgment, delivered on Tuesday, November 25, sharply criticised Poland for refusing to acknowledge a marriage between two Polish men who wed in Germany.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said Poland acted unlawfully when it rejected the couple’s marriage certificate. Polish authorities had argued that national laws do not allow same-sex marriage.
The court ruled that this decision violated the men’s rights as EU citizens. It said the refusal breached their freedom to move, reside, and enjoy private and family life across the bloc.
The couple married in Berlin in 2018 and later returned to Poland. They asked the state to transcribe their marriage into the Polish registry. Officials rejected the request, prompting a legal battle that reached the CJEU.
Their lawyer, Pawel Knut, hailed the ruling as “historic.” He said it marked a major step for equality and would influence similar cases across Europe. Knut added that Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court must now decide whether to complete the transcription, although the CJEU’s ruling is binding.
The court stressed that EU citizens must be able to maintain a “normal family life” when returning to their home country. It noted that marriage created in one member state must be respected when couples move across the EU.
However, the ruling does not force countries to legalise same-sex marriage domestically. It only requires them to recognise marriages legally performed elsewhere.
Poland, a heavily Catholic country, has long faced criticism for its stance on LGBTQ+ rights. Previous governments described LGBTQ+ advocacy as a “foreign ideology.” The current pro-EU government is working on a civil partnership bill, but progress remains slow.
The bill also faces strong resistance from conservative partners in the ruling coalition. President Karol Nawrocki has already warned he will veto any legislation that challenges the constitutional definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The ruling now places Poland under renewed pressure from Brussels and LGBTQ+ rights groups across Europe.
CNN.