{"id":52675,"date":"2026-05-17T03:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T02:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/?p=52675"},"modified":"2026-05-14T12:16:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:16:57","slug":"we-feel-betrayed-polish-queers-react-as-tusk-hesitates-on-recognising-eu-same-sex-marriages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/en\/2026\/05\/17\/we-feel-betrayed-polish-queers-react-as-tusk-hesitates-on-recognising-eu-same-sex-marriages\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe feel betrayed\u201d: Polish queers react as Tusk hesitates on recognising EU same-sex marriages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Poland\u2019s new government came to power, manyqueer people allowed themselves a cautious sigh of relief. After years of \u201cLGBT\u2011free zones\u201d and open hostility, the pro\u2011European coalition led by\u00a0Donald Tusk\u00a0sounded like a fresh start. But as Dutch LGBTQ+ magazine\u00a0Winq\u00a0reports, that hope is already cracking \u2013 especially around one concrete issue:\u00a0recognition of same\u2011sex marriages performed in other EU countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to ELMA \u2013 the European LGBTQIA+ Magazines Association<\/strong>, ket can share and adapt this reporting from Winq. Because what happens in Warsaw matters in Brussels too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What the EU court said \u2013 and what Poland is (not) doing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In November 2025<\/strong>, the Court of Justice of the European Union<\/strong> ruled that all EU member states must recognise same\u2011sex marriages legally concluded in another EU country<\/strong>, at least for the purpose of free movement and family life. The case involved a Polish couple who had married in Germany and wanted their marriage registered back home. Poland refused, arguing that its national law does not allow same\u2011sex marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU court was clear: a country does\u00a0not<\/strong>\u00a0have to open marriage domestically, but it\u00a0cannot pretend a foreign same\u2011sex marriage doesn\u2019t exist<\/strong>\u00a0when it comes to things like residence rights, access to services or family life. If a straight couple\u2019s German marriage is recognised on return, the same must apply to a gay or lesbian couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Following that decision, Poland\u2019s administrative supreme court<\/strong> issued a breakthrough ruling: a same\u2011sex marriage registered in another EU member state must be entered into the Polish civil registry. On paper, that looked like a turning point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also : Poland\u2019s Supreme Administrative Court Recognises Same-Sex Marriages from Other EU Countries<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as Winq points out, the reality is messy. Prime minister Donald Tusk<\/strong> has sent mixed signals over time, at moments saying Poland would respect EU law and recognise such marriages, at others insisting that \u201cPolish law\u201d remains the limit and pushing the issue back onto courts and bureaucratic procedures. For couples who have waited years to see their families acknowledged, that hesitation feels like a refusal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe feel betrayed\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The headline of Winq\u2019s article is blunt: \u201cPolish queers feel betrayed by prime minister Tusk\u201d<\/strong>. After campaigning against the openly homophobic PiS government and promising a more rights\u2011friendly direction, Tusk is now seen by many activists as dragging his feet<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Queer couples who married in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands or Belgium describe a familiar pattern:<\/p>\n\n\n\n