Key facts
- President Karol Nawrocki vetoed two bills concerning cohabitation contracts.
- The legislation would have granted rights related to joint property, medical information, and burial arrangements.
- Nawrocki argued the bills created a new institution that threatened the constitutional definition of marriage.
- The veto is a setback for Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition, which had promised LGBT rights reforms.
- Overturning the veto is considered practically impossible due to opposition from nationalist parties.
Poland's President Karol Nawrocki vetoed two legislative proposals on Friday that aimed to establish "cohabitation contracts" for couples, a move that significantly impacts the rights of same-sex couples in the country. The bills, which had garnered support across the governing coalition, would have regulated issues such as joint property, access to medical information, and burial arrangements for cohabiting adults.
President Nawrocki, an ally of the nationalist opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), stated that the proposals created a new, formalized institution within family law that possessed a broad range of rights similar to those of marriage. He asserted that as the guardian of the Constitution, he could not accept a solution that would diminish the special status of marriage, which is defined in Article 18 of the Constitution as a union between a man and a woman.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who assumed office in 2023 with a commitment to advancing reforms on abortion and LGBT rights, has faced challenges in implementing such changes due to divisions within his broad pro-European coalition and the president's veto power. Overturning the presidential veto would require a three-fifths majority in parliament, a threshold considered practically unattainable given the opposition from nationalist parties.
Katarzyna Kotula, the government official responsible for equality issues, expressed disappointment, stating that Nawrocki had "turned his back on two million people living today in informal relationships." Following a ruling by the EU's top court that recognizes same-sex marriages registered abroad, Kotula indicated a focus on ensuring these couples have access to all available benefits.
Poland's Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH) noted that the vetoed bills represented a reduced version of earlier proposals for civil partnerships, emphasizing that even these minimal rights were deemed excessive by the president.