Polish law may forbid same-sex marriage, but the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Poland must recognise a gay couple’s foreign marriage anyway.
The two men—both of whom are Polish nationals, although one also has German nationality—married in 2018 in Berlin, where they then lived and where same-sex marriage is permitted. When they requested, upon their return to Poland, that their marriage certificate be registered there, they were refused because this would contradict the nation’s laws.
Never mind—the court has since said in a statement that “such a refusal is contrary to EU law,” and “infringes not only the freedom to move and reside, but also the fundamental right to respect for private and family life.”
This interference by Brussels into a member state’s affairs has, expectedly, received some pushback. Polish MP Marcin Romanowski, of the Law and Justice party, described the ruling as “a blatant violation of the principle of conferred competences and a perverse, but all the more scandalous, interference in the sovereign competences of member states in the area of family law and civil status acts.”
The Constitution of the Republic of Poland clearly defines marriage as the union of a woman and a man—and it was written precisely to prevent such absurdities. Nevertheless, officials from Luxembourg (as it’s hard to call them judges) have ruled that Poland is obliged to “procedurally” recognise foreign “homomarriages.”
This is introducing them through the back door—down a slippery slope with all the consequences, including the adoption of children bought at Western markets.
Orzeczenie TSUE w sprawie C-713/23 narzuca uznawanie przez państwo członkowskie "homomałżeństw" obywateli państw Unii, zawartych w innym kraju UE. To jawne pogwałcenie zasady kompetencji przekazanych i przewrotna, ale tym bardziej skandaliczna ingerencja w suwerenne kompetencje…
Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro likewise attacked the ECJ as “the most politicised quasi-court in Europe,” adding:
In violation of international agreements, in violation of the Polish constitution and the will of the nation, they want to introduce same-sex marriages into Poland.
Lewactwo rozkrada nam Unię Europejską! TSUE, najbardziej upolityczniony parasąd w Europie, do którego sędziów wprost wyznaczają rządy, znów chce zmienić unijne traktaty. Wbrew międzynarodowym umowom, wbrew polskiej konstytucji i woli narodu chcą wprowadzić do Polski małżeństwa…
But their objections are unlikely to change anything, and other EU countries that ban same-sex marriage will likely face the same pressure to recognise such unions.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
