EU court demands Slovakia recognise foreign same-sex marriages — but what will the country do?

Slovakia will be required to recognise same-sex marriages carried out in other EU countries after a landmark ruling by the EU’s top court — a decision that could put the country on a collision course with its own conservative laws and a recently amended constitution.

In a judgement issued this week, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled that member states must acknowledge same-sex marriages legally concluded elsewhere in the EU whenever such recognition is necessary for citizens to exercise their rights, particularly free movement and family life. While the ruling stemmed from a Polish case, it applies automatically to all 27 member states.

What changes for Slovakia?

Slovakia does not permit same-sex couples to marry or enter civil partnerships, but it does recognise foreign marriages by issuing a Slovak marriage certificate via a special registry at the Interior Ministry. The CJEU ruling means that registry will now have to process same-sex marriage certificates on the same terms as opposite-sex ones, according to Euractiv.

If it refuses, couples can challenge the decision in Slovak courts — courts which are bound to apply EU law. A Slovak human-rights group says several couples are already preparing applications.

In September, Slovakia adopted a constitutional amendment emphasising national “sovereignty” in cultural and ethical matters, a move critics saw as an attempt to carve out exceptions from EU law. The European Commission has recently opened infringement proceedings.

But the CJEU ruling makes clear that recognising same-sex marriages formed abroad does not threaten national identity and cannot be refused on those grounds. Slovakia is therefore legally obliged to comply despite the amendment.

The decision does not force Slovakia to allow same-sex marriage domestically. It only compels recognition of marriages already valid in another EU state.

The practical impact now depends on Slovak authorities, notes Euractiv. The European Commission has historically been slow to enforce similar rulings — Romania, for example, still has not fully implemented the 2018 Coman judgement — but LGBT+ groups say Brussels must act more robustly this time.

How are Slovak politicians reacting?

Experts say the ruling in the Polish case marks the first real test of Slovakia’s new constitutional amendment against EU law.

The decision has already become a flashpoint in Slovakia’s culture war, according to Denník N.

Former prime minister Igor Matovič, leader of the Hnutie Slovensko party, reacted furiously, claiming “someone in the EU has lost their mind” and warning the ruling could contribute to the “slow but certain collapse of the EU”.

Miriam Lexmann, an MEP from the Christian-democratic KDH, condemned the ruling as a “gross violation of the spirit of the EU treaties”. She accused Brussels of undermining public trust and insisted Slovakia’s recent constitutional amendment would allow its Constitutional Court to resist EU “pressure” on family-law matters. KDH MPs, along with coalition partners and several Slovensko and Christian Union MPs, backed that amendment in September.

For now, Slovakia faces a clear choice: recognise foreign same-sex marriages as required by EU law, or risk another confrontation with Brussels — and potentially significant financial penalties.

EU court demands Slovakia recognise foreign same-sex marriages — but what will the country do?

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