The proposal - called the Act on the Status of Close Persons and Civil Partnership Agreements - was presented in the lower house of the Polish parliament (Sejm) on Friday by leaders of the centrist PSL and the Left.
Under the plan, couples who are not married would be able to inherit property tax-free, take joint loans, receive a survivor’s pension, and share health insurance coverage.
Poland moves toward legal recognition of civil partnerships
The bill also provides the right to decide on medical care and burial, access health documentation, and register property jointly.
Partnerships would be formalized through a notarized civil agreement, officially registered with local authorities.
From right: Włodzimierz Czarzasty, Katarzyna Kotula, Urszula Pasławska (2nd left), Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Katarzyna Kotula, a left-wing MP and Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, highlighted the proposal’s key points in a social media post, calling it a breakthrough for equality.
“For 20 years, no one in this chamber has managed to prepare a bill that could be passed,” she said.
Kotula noted that the legislation responds to the needs of thousands of couples who have built their lives together without legal protection, often treated by the state as strangers. The government expects the bill to be debated and possibly adopted later this year.
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Source: Radio Poland/PR24/X/@KotulaKat