Brussels, 15th October 2020

Ursula von der Leyen, President European Commission Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200 1049 Brussels

Charles Michel, President European Council Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 175 1048 Brussels

Subject: (Re)asserting the commitment to the Istanbul Convention

Honourable President Ursula von der Leyen, Honourable President Charles Michel,

Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (hereafter Istanbul Convention) is the first universally binding treaty that explicitly defines gender-based violence, especially against women and girls, as illegal. A complete ratification by all the Member States as well as EU’s accession would be a moment of historic prominence, both for the relevance of the treaty and gender equality and fight against gender-based violence in the EU.

Almost a year after the election of the current European Commission, there is still a strong statement of then candidate for the Commission President resonating within the : “We also need to talk openly about violence against women. If 1 in 5 women have already suffered physical or sexual violence in the and 55% of women have been sexually harassed, this is clearly not a women's issue. I will propose to add violence against women on the list of EU crimes defined in the Treaty. And the European Union should join the Istanbul Convention.” Additionally, the Gender Equality Strategy marks a new era in the fight for gender equality with a specific focus on eliminating gender-based violence, thus stating: “the ‘Istanbul Convention’ – is the benchmark for international standards in this field. The EU signed the Convention in 2017, and concluding the EU’s accession is a key priority for the Commission.1”

1 Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025. This clear message and commitment remain only at a declarative level, whereas they miss a concrete realization and implementation. Namely, we regret to observe that ratification by the Member States and thereby the process of EU’s accession have slowed down, while some Member States even consider withdrawing from the Convention. Moreover, in recent years there is an increase of initiatives that foster misconceptions and misinterpretations on the aim and content of the Istanbul Convention. These initiatives have contaminated the discourse of gender equality and severely hampered EU’s strive for prevention and combat of violence against women and domestic violence, thus also further endangering women and girls across the EU. The European Parliament has already condemned these kind of initiatives and campaigns against the Istanbul Convention and expressed concerns about the rejection of the zero-tolerance norm for violence against women and gender-based violence, for which there is a strong international consensus2.

In a decade since the Istanbul Convention has opened for signature it thus still fails to be legally binding across the EU and it misses progress towards full implementation of its provisions, without any reservations. The lack of concrete and operationally based approach to a full EU ratification undermines the core values of the EU.

Therefore, we the undersigned members of the European Parliament, believe that it would be an essential opportunity for the Commission and the Council to mark this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25th November, with proposal for concrete action towards full ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention.

Sincerely,

Milan Brglez, MEP, S&D Predrag Fred Matić, MEP, S&D Abir Al-Sahlani, MEP, Renew , MEP, S&D , MEP, S&D , MEP, S&D , MEP, Greens/EFA Alice Kuhnke, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, S&D Alviina Alametsä, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, S&D Anna Júlia Donáth, MEP, Renew Antoni Comín, MEP, NI , MEP, EPP Attila Ara-Kovács, MEP, S&D

2 European Parliament resolution of 13 February 2019 on experiencing a backlash in women’s rights and gender equality in the EU (2018/2684(RSP)). Aušra Maldeikienė, MEP, EPP Benoît Biteau, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, S&D , MEP, S&D , MEP, S&D , MEP, NI , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Renew , MEP, Renew Cindy Franssen, MEP, EPP Clara Ponsatí, MEP, NI , MEP, Greens/EFA Csaba Molnár, MEP, S&D Damien Carême, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Greens/EFA Demetris Papadakis, MEP, S&D i Giner, MEP, Greens/EFA Dietmar Köster, MEP, S&D , MEP, GUE/NGL Dragoș Tudorache, MEP, Renew , MEP, S&D Elżbieta Łukacijewska, MEP, EPP , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, S&D , MEP, S&D , MEP, S&D Ewa Bożena Kopacz, MEP, EPP Frances Fitzgerald, MEP, EPP François Alfonsi, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, S&D Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Greens/EFA Heidi Hautala, MEP, Greens/EFA Heléne Fritzon, MEP, S&D , MEP, ECR , MEP, Renew , MEP, S&D István Ujhelyi, MEP, S&D , MEP, Renew , MEP, Greens/EFA Jan-Christoph Oetjen, MEP, Renew Jarosław Duda, MEP, EPP , MEP, S&D Jordi Solé, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Renew , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Greens/EFA Klára Dobrev, MEP, S&D Klemen Grošelj, MEP, Renew Leïla Chaibi, MEP, GUE/NGL Lina Gálvez Muñoz, MEP, S&D Łukasz Kohut, MEP, S&D Magdalena Adamowicz, MEP, EPP Malin Björk, MEP, GUE/NGL , MEP, GUE/NGL , MEP, GUE/NGL Manuel Pizarro, MEP, S&D , MEP, S&D , MEP, S&D María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, MEP, GUE/NGL , MEP, S&D Maria Walsh, MEP, EPP Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques, MEP, S&D , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, NI , MEP, S&D Michèle Rivasi, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Renew Nikolaj Villumsen, MEP, GUE/NGL Özlem Alev Demirel, MEP, GUE/NGL Pär Holmgren, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, GUE/NGL Petras Auštrevičius, MEP, Renew Philippe Lamberts, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, S&D , MEP, S&D Radka Maxová, MEP, Renew Robert Biedroń, MEP, S&D Romana Jerković, MEP, S&D Rosa D´Amato, MEP, NI , MEP, Greens/EFA Sándor Rónai, MEP, S&D , MEP, Greens/EFA Saskia Bricmont, MEP, Greens/EFA Silvia Modig, MEP, GUE/NGL Stelios Kympouropoulos, MEP, EPP , MEP, Renew Sylvie Brunet, MEP, Renew , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, S&D , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, S&D Ulrike Müller, MEP, Renew , MEP, S&D Ville Niinistö, MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, Renew , MEP, Greens/EFA , MEP, GUE/NGL