President Nawrocki vetoes nearest-person bill; Tusk calls it 'contempt for people and their right to happiness'

President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the government's bill on the status of a nearest person in a relationship and a cohabitation agreement, along with its implementing legislation, on Friday. The bill was designed to grant unmarried couples (both opposite-sex and same-sex) practical rights such as access to a partner's medical information, inheritance arrangements, and shared property settlements.

Nawrocki defended his decision in a video posted on social media, stating that as a guardian of the constitution he could not accept a solution that would undermine the special status of marriage defined in Article 18 as a union of a woman and a man.

I cannot accept a solution that would lead to the loss of the special status of marriage.

The president argued the legislation created a new, formalised family-law institution with rights very similar to marriage, calling it an alternative to marriage introduced through the back door. He added that he remains open to signing a law that provides real administrative help to people in nearest-person status without carrying ideological pressure or challenging the unique status of marriage. The veto is the 41st of Nawrocki's presidency.

Coalition backlash

Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacted within hours on platform X, writing that the presidential veto is an expression of contempt toward people and their right to happiness and a normal life. Speaking later, Tusk said he was very angry and that a certain boundary had been crossed.

I am very angry. This was the absolute minimum we all worked on.

Tusk stressed the bill was a hard-won compromise aimed at making life easier for millions of Poles, not only same-sex couples but also hundreds of thousands of people living in informal relationships for various reasons. He challenged Law and Justice politicians directly, asking whether they believed their model of life was ideal and that everyone in Poland should live the same way.

Ministers line up to condemn

Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek called the veto a display of extreme cynicism and complete detachment from reality, describing it as an ideological retaliation against citizens. He noted the bill was not ideological but designed to solve everyday human dramas such as the right to medical information in a hospital and the right to burial.

A very sad day for Polish democracy and ordinary human decency.

Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz said ideology had overshadowed the good of people, pointing out that nearly 2 million Poles live in extramarital relationships and every third child is born outside marriage. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the president had blocked good changes and chosen politics over making people's lives easier.

Presidential camp pushes back

Head of the Presidential Chancellery Paweł Szefernaker responded directly to Kosiniak-Kamysz, rejecting the characterisation of the bill as merely administrative. He stated the projects created a new, para-marital family-law institution equipped with a broad catalogue of rights similar to marriage, requiring changes to over 200 separate laws.

What the bill contained

The vetoed legislation would have allowed two adults to choose a property regime, obtain rights to use a shared apartment, and gain access to a partner's medical information. Government plenipotentiary for equality Katarzyna Kotula noted the nearest-person bill replaced an earlier, broader registered-partnership project, describing it as a step back taken in order to make future steps forward possible. Coalition politicians signalled the bill will return to parliament, with Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski vowing that a majority in the Sejm will reject the politics of contempt and restore a state that protects all citizens.