Warsaw has registered its first same-sex marriage following a Polish court ruling that opened a pathway for the recognition of unions legally formalized in other European Union countries.
Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said city authorities completed the first such registration on Thursday morning. According to him, the procedure was carried out “without delay and immediately.”
The decision could grant same-sex couples access to a range of rights already available to other married couples in Poland, including tax benefits and the ability to obtain medical information about a partner.
The change became possible after Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court overturned a government refusal to recognize the marriage of two Polish citizens who had married in Germany.
Earlier, in late 2025, the European Union’s highest court ruled that Poland could not discriminate against same-sex couples who had legally married elsewhere within the bloc.
Poland has regularly ranked among EU countries with some of the most limited protections for LGBTQ+ rights. Political divisions over the issue prevented Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government from advancing legislative changes for nearly two years.
President Karol Nawrocki and the opposition Law and Justice party continue to oppose such initiatives.
The court ruling triggered a sharp reaction from Law and Justice, whose representatives repeatedly clashed with LGBTQ+ organizations during the party’s time in power from 2015 to 2023.
This week Donald Tusk apologized to “all those who for many years felt rejected and humiliated” because of the country’s approach to LGBTQ+ rights and pledged to address the issue as quickly as possible following the court’s decision.