WARSAW — Officials in Poland’s capital said on Thursday that Warsaw has formally recognized a same-sex marriage contracted in another European Union country, marking the first time such a transcription has been carried out in the mostly Catholic nation.
City authorities said they completed the registration — or transcription — of a marriage certificate for a couple who married in Berlin in 2018. Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski told reporters, “This morning, we carried out the first transcription.”
The action follows a March ruling by Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court that same-sex marriages entered into in other EU member states must be recognized in Poland. That decision incorporated a 2025 ruling from the European Union in a case brought by Jakub Cupriak-Trojan and Mateusz Trojan, court records show.
Jakub Cupriak-Trojan and Mateusz Trojan, who were married in Berlin in 2018 and had repeatedly been refused recognition in Poland, confirmed they had received a Polish marriage certificate after the city’s transcription. “We are happy about this and we hope that the next transcriptions, which many couples are waiting for, will be carried out without unnecessary delay,” they told the website OKO.press.
Poland’s domestic law continues to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and the country remains among the last in Europe that has not legalized same-sex marriage or civil unions, alongside Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia.
The publisher of a pro-LGBTQ rights magazine, Replika, described the transcription as “historic” and “absolutely pivotal,” officials said. The move comes amid political divisions: Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition is split over the issue, but he had signaled earlier this week that a step by Warsaw city hall was likely. Tusk said recognizing same-sex couples was “a matter of human dignity and human rights,” according to officials.
Local authorities did not provide a broader timetable for further transcriptions but emphasized that the city was acting in line with the Supreme Administrative Court’s interpretation of EU law. The couple’s successful registration is expected to be closely watched by other same-sex couples in Poland who have sought official recognition of marriages performed abroad.
The development follows broader public visibility for LGBTQ issues in Warsaw: the city’s annual Equality Parade brought together thousands of people on June 14, 2025, illustrating the ongoing public debate over rights and recognition.
Officials stressed that the transcription applies to marriages contracted in other EU states and noted that the constitutional and statutory definitions of marriage within Poland remain unchanged. Legal and administrative observers say future cases and government responses will determine how broadly the court’s March ruling and the EU decision are implemented across the country.
For now, the transcription completed in Warsaw represents the first instance of a same-sex marriage certificate issued in Poland based on a foreign EU marriage, and it sets a procedural precedent that other municipal offices may follow, officials said.
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