Polish President Karol Nawrocki on July 17 vetoed bills that would have extended rights to same-sex couples.<\/p>\n
Reuters reported<\/a> Nawrocki rejected two measures that would have allowed same-sex couples who live together to enter into \u201ccohabitation contracts.\u201d Reuters noted the bills would have allowed same-sex couples to make decisions on issues that include access to medical information, property rights, and burial.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s coalition government backed the bills that MPs approved. Nawrocki, a socially conservative Catholic, in a statement said they \u201ccreate a new, formalized institution of family law, \u200bequipped with a broad catalogue of rights similar to those of marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs the guardian of the Constitution, I cannot accept a solution that would lead to the loss of the \u200cspecial \u2060status of marriage, defined in Article 18 of the Constitution as a union of a man and a woman under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland,\u201d said Nawrocki, as Reuters noted.<\/a><\/p>\n Prime Minister Donald Tusk sharply criticized Nawrocki.<\/p>\n Miko Czerwi\u0144ski of the Campaign Against Homophobia, a Polish LGBTQ advocacy group, in a statement noted nearly 80 percent of Poles \u201cbelieve that the status of same-sex couples should be protected.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnce again, the voice of society has proven irrelevant to those in power,\u201d said Czerwi\u0144ski. \u201cWe are not willing to accept this. We will continue working towards full marriage equality.\u201d<\/p>\n The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg last November\u00a0ruled<\/a>\u00a0in favor of a same-sex couple who challenged Poland\u2019s refusal to recognize their German marriage. Poland\u2019s Supreme Administrative Court in March\u00a0reaffirmed<\/a>\u00a0the decision.<\/p>\n The couple, who lives in Poland, brought their case to Polish courts in 2019. The Supreme Administrative Court referred it to the EU Court of Justice.<\/p>\n