The Polish government has presented a draft law introducing the legal status of a “closest person in a relationship and cohabitation agreement,” which would grant unmarried partners several key rights — including joint tax filing (where property is shared), access to medical information, inheritance rights by testament, and eligibility for survivor benefits. Representatives of the New Left emphasize that while the proposal is a major step toward protecting people in informal relationships, it still falls short of their goal of full marriage equality.
“The New Left supports full marriage equality. We’re not changing our position — it’s important to us and we will keep working until it becomes reality. But the math in parliament is clear. There are only 21 of us. The rest are conservatives, and we don’t control how they vote,” said Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, MEP from the New Left, in an interview with Newseria.
What the draft law allows
The proposal enables couples to enter into a notarized civil-law agreement, registered with the Civil Registry Office, giving partners rights such as:
- access to medical records and the right to make health-related decisions
- the right to decide on funeral arrangements
- joint tax settlement in cases of shared property
- health insurance coverage for the partner
- eligibility for survivor pension benefits
- inheritance under testamentary arrangements
Scheuring-Wielgus stresses that this framework is the result of negotiations with the agrarian-conservative PSL — historically the strongest opponent of partnership legislation — and is meant to ensure basic legal and financial safety for couples who currently have zero protection under Polish law.
Social support is high — but attitudes differ by couple type
According to a 2024 CBOS poll:
- 90% of Poles support legal recognition of opposite-sex partnerships
- 52% support same-sex civil partnerships
- 43% are opposed to legal recognition for same-sex couples
“This is not just about LGBTQ+ couples — the majority are heterosexual. These are safety issues: financial, medical, legal. This is really a good first step that shows the state finally cares. Right now, the situation is completely unregulated — and that is scandalous,” says Scheuring-Wielgus.
EU laggards and shifting public reality
Only five EU countries — Poland, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia — still do not recognize registered partnerships. Lithuania’s Constitutional Court has already ruled in 2025 that excluding same-sex couples is unconstitutional. Polish President Karol Nawrocki has publicly declared that he is open to discussing a “closest person” status, as long as it does not violate the constitutional protection of marriage.
Demographics are changing fast
Poland is seeing a steep rise in informal unions:
- The number of cohabiting couples nearly tripled between 2011 and 2021
- Over 895,000 such partnerships were recorded in the 2021 Census
- 63% of them have children
- Meanwhile: fewer marriages, more divorces — and rising separations
“As the numbers show, there are fewer marriages and more divorces every year. I’m married and I value it — but that was my choice. Others deserve a choice too. Registered partnerships are that choice,” says Scheuring-Wielgus.
She cites the example of fellow New Left MPs Robert Biedroń and Krzysztof Śmiszek:
“They’ve been together as long as I have been married. I have every right as a spouse — and they have none. That is fundamentally unjust. I cannot understand how anyone sees this as a threat to marriage. How? If you want to marry — you can. Nothing changes.”
The bill is expected to ignite major parliamentary debate in the coming weeks, marking the first serious legislative attempt in years to legally recognize non-marital partnerships in Poland.
