During the plenary session of the European Parliament (11-14 June 2018) in Strasbourg, MEPs debate the state of play of the Istanbul Convention. Statements by Monika PANAYOTOVA, Deputy Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, Frans TIMMERMANS, First Vice-President of the EC in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT (EPP, SE), Angelika MLINAR (ALDE, AT) and Terry REINTKE (Greens/EFA, DE).

Istanbul Convention - state of play: extracts from the debate

Atmosphere shots of the EP building in Strasbourg.

SOUNDBITE (English), Monika PANAYOTOVA, Deputy Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, Combating all forms of violence against women and young girls is a core element of the respect for fundamental rights. These crimes have no place in the Union and the Council is clear on zero tolerance of violence against women.

SOUNDBITE (English), Monika PANAYOTOVA, Deputy Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, All 28 Member States have already signed this convention and 18 of them have already ratified it. The Council has on several occasions encouraged those Member States that have not done so yet to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

SOUNDBITE (English), Monika PANAYOTOVA, Deputy Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, As President TAJANI strongly affirmed, the struggle for the elimination of violence against women is a fight that each and everyone of us must take part in. It is our duty to stand up for women by drawing awareness for this injustice.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frans TIMMERMANS, First Vice-President of the EC in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, The misconceptions and misleading arguments voiced in public debates about the Convention need to be confronted. The Commission is working on the communication strategy to rebut fears that the Convention would challenge conventional family or religious norms or introduce an obligation to allow same sex marriage or a new refugee status for transgendered or intersex persons.

SOUNDBITE (English), Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT (EPP, SE), The signature of the EU of Istanbul Convention was a historic step to strengthen our tools to prevent violence, combat impunity and protect victims. Since then Estonia, Cyprus, Germany and now Croatia have ratified the Convention. But, 10 Member States are missing, including the Presidency. I am asking them, how many women have to be harassed, beaten up and killed how many girls have to been married away, mutilated or trafficked for prostitution, before they ratify an enforce.

SOUNDBITE (English), Angelika MLINAR (ALDE, AT), This gives me the opportunity to call on the next Eu Council Presidency, Austria, my country to conclude the code of conduct and to find political agreement with the remaining, problematic Member States who keep blocking the ratification by the European Union of the Istanbul Convention. For those Member States I have a crystal clear message, I urge you to stop spreading outrageous misinformation about the Convention and its content. Gender is not a threat, domestic violence is.

SOUNDBITE (English), Terry REINTKE (Greens/EFA, DE), There are politicians who are spreading lies in order to block the ratification of this very important Convention and this politicians, they only have one precondition under which they actually care about violence against women. And that is when the perpetrator is a Muslim, when the perpetrator is a refugee, when the perpetrator is a "stranger". When the perpetrator is somebody who they can politically instrumentalise. And I say to you today, stop this disgusting political campaigns, start doing something for the protection of women against violence, start campaigning for the Istanbul Convention because this is the real political tool that you should use in order to prevent violence from happening. Stand up for women in Europe, support the Istanbul Convention now.

Istanbul Convention - state of play: extracts from the debate

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