Six years after the EU signed the Convention - the first legally binding international instrument for preventing and combating violence against women and girls - and despite Parliament’s multiple calls to this end, it has still not ratified it because of the refusal of a few member states. However, the EU Court of Justice’s opinion of 6 October 2021 confirmed that the European Union can ratify the Istanbul Convention even without having the agreement of all member states. MEPs debate the matter and vote. Extracts from the debate, the vote and statement by Arba KOKALARI (EPP, SE), Rapporteur.

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

vote

violence against women (T)

KOKALARI, Arba (EPP, SE)

KOHUT, Łukasz (S&D, PL)

DALLI, Helena (MT, EC)

EU accession to the Istanbul Convention on violence against women: extracts from the debate (09/05), extracts from the vote and statement by Arba KOKALARI (EPP, SE), Rapporteur

SOUNDBITE (English), Arba KOKALARI (EPP, SE), I want to send my strongest call to those remaining member states, those six remaining Member states in the EU, to also individually ratify the Istanbul Convention. It's time for you to stand on the right side of history and to support women's rights to life free from violence. Because fighting violence against women is about standing up for women's freedom.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), &#321;ukasz KOHUT (S&amp;D, PL), Rapporteur, We need to ask the rightist hypocrites what is the value of the family when the father humiliates the mother? What is the higher good than the health and life of the mother and child? The Istanbul Convention is the health and security, not politics. If we ratify it, we will have the highest standards protecting against violence in Europe, and the convention will reach those countries that haven't ratified it yet.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), &#321;ukasz KOHUT (S&amp;D, PL), Rapporteur, I am fully aware that today's vote on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention by the EU, it's just a matter of pure human decency. If somebody votes against the Convention, they simply tolerate violence at home, it is a black and white situation.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, The Commission has proposed a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, which aims at achieving the same objectives as the Istanbul Convention in the area of judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The proposed directive, once adopted by the co-legislators, will served to implement the relevant parts of the Convention on Prevention, Protection, Access to Justice and policy coordination and cooperation.

Results of the vote "Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence &ndash; EU accession: institutions and public administration of the Union": 472 + / 062 - / 073 O

Results of the vote: "Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence - EU accession: judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement": 464+ / 81 - / 45 O

SOUNDBITE (English), Arba KOKALARI (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, The Istanbul convention is a broad convention that have many specific tools that will help the law enforcement and the authorities in member states on how to prevent violence against women, how to make victims more safe, how to help the police forces and the and the law enforcers to prosecute predators. So it's a range, a big range of different reforms that the member states can apply in the national laws to really fight and combat violence against women.

SOUNDBITE (English), Arba KOKALARI (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, We have still six remaining EU member states that have not ratified the Istanbul Convention, and those are Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czechia, Bulgaria and Hungary. And with the EU ratification, they need to implement part of the Istanbul Convention, which is part of the European laws. So that will also make them get some extra pressure to also ratify the whole Istanbul convention in their own national laws.

SOUNDBITE (English), Arba KOKALARI, Rapporteur, I really think that the Istanbul convention is the big first step. And when now we have ratified it, it will become also easier for the directive on stopping gender based violence also to come into force in the EU. What we've done today is that we've shown a strong political, political message that in Europe we have zero zero tolerance against violence against women. And that will also pave the way for the directive.