Poland acts to improve status of same-sex couples with cohabitation bill

WARSAW, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Poland's government approved a bill on Tuesday introducing "cohabitation contracts" for couples living together, a measure of recognition for same-sex unions in one of the few European Union countries with few rights for LGBT people.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who took office in 2023 pledging to reverse arch-conservative party policies criticised by Brussels for undermining democracy and minority rights, has struggled to deliver reforms on abortion and LGBT rights.

Those have faced resistance from his conservative junior coalition partner PSL and veto threats from two successive presidents aligned with the right-wing nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party that lost power in the 2023 election.

"We are going to the parliament with a conciliation project for which we believe there is a majority in the lower and upper House," Katarzyna Kotula, the government official overseeing equality issues, told reporters after a cabinet session.

The bill would allow two people, regardless of gender, to sign a cohabitation contract at a notary’s office. It covers housing rights, alimony, access to health information and health insurance, care leave, joint tax returns and tax exemptions.

The measure stops short of legalising same-sex marriage, which remains banned.

Tusk's pro-European government hopes the limited scope of the bill will secure approval from nationalist President Karol Nawrocki. LGBT groups voiced frustration but said the measure might be the only one with any chance to pass in parliament.

"This is not a moment of triumph. After two years of Donald Tusk's government, the ruling coalition has finally developed a joint proposal," the Campaign Against Homophobia said in a statement after the initial publication of the bill.

"This is not the bill we've been fighting for over the years. It's a meagre response to great expectations – and the only one that, in the current situation, can offer any sense of security."

Mostly Catholic Poland remains among the most restrictive EU states on LGBT rights, despite growing public support for legal recognition of same-sex couples.

(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, additional reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz; editing by Mark Heinrich)