Polish President Karol Nawrocki exercised his veto on Friday to strike down a bill that would have created a “status of a close person” for unmarried couples, a move that halts the extension of inheritance, medical information and property rights to same-sex partners. The legislation, advanced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist cabinet, was framed as a civil contract distinct from marriage but was rejected by the head of state as incompatible with Article 18 of the constitution, which defines marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman. The veto also blocks a companion introductory law, effectively freezing the initiative.

In a video statement, Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist, argued that the bill would have established a legal institution with rights “close to those of a spouse” while circumventing the constitutional protection of marriage. He described the family as the foundation of national survival. Prime Minister Tusk responded by calling the decision “an expression of contempt for the people and their right to happiness,” according to Russian business daily Kommersant. The government’s equality commissioner, Katarzyna Kotula, indicated she would now pursue alternative legal pathways to secure rights for same-sex couples, including those who married abroad, a practice Poland has been compelled to recognise following a ruling by the European Union’s top court.

Viewed from Brussels, the veto reinforces Poland’s position as one of the last EU member states without any legal framework for same-sex unions, alongside Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia. The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) consistently ranks Poland among the bloc’s lowest performers on LGBTIQA+ rights. The bill’s failure also exposes the constraints on Tusk’s pro-European coalition, which includes more conservative partners and must contend with a president from the opposition camp, limiting the government’s ability to deliver on social reform pledges made ahead of the 2023 parliamentary elections.

From Moscow, state media contextualised the Polish veto by referencing Russia’s own constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, enshrined in a 2020 amendment, and the State Duma’s 2021 refusal to implement a European Court of Human Rights ruling on the matter, citing the supremacy of national constitutional law. This framing presents the Polish decision as part of a broader Central and Eastern European divergence from Western European norms on family law, anchored in constitutional definitions of marriage.

The veto cannot be overridden without a three-fifths majority in the Sejm, which the ruling coalition lacks. Equality commissioner Kotula has signalled that her office will now pursue piecemeal administrative measures to address the legal vulnerabilities of same-sex couples, though no legislative timetable exists for a revised bill. The standoff leaves Poland’s legal landscape unchanged, with no mechanism for registering same-sex partnerships, while the government and presidency remain at odds over the scope of constitutional marriage protections.