Ms Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission European Commission Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200 1049 Brussels Mr Charles Michel, President of the European Council European Commission Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 1049 Brussels Brussels, 27 July 2020 Dear President von der Leyen, Dear President Michel, With this letter, we would like to draw your attention to the Polish government’s expressed intent to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on fighting domestic violence. This latest development shows that we can never take women’s rights for granted. This is disrespectful, a clear violation of women’s rights and unacceptable. The signal the Polish government is sending is a highly troubling one in times that are already challenging for women. Women have been hit disproportionally hard by the Covid-19 crisis and face an increase in cases of domestic violence. The European Union is founded upon shared values that are enshrined in our Treaties, amongst them equality between men and women. We cannot regress on these core values stipulated in Article 2 TEU. We should never accept it when one of our Member States backtracks from equality. That is why we call on you, as the President of the European Commission, guardian of the treaties, and as the President of the European Council, to do everything within your power to discourage the Polish government from taking this misstep. Madam President, in your political guidelines, you made the commitment that the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention is a key priority for the Commission and that if the accession remains blocked in the Council, you would consider tabling proposals on minimum standards regarding the definition of certain types of violence, and strengthening the Victims’ Rights Directive. You specifically promised that you would propose to add violence against women to the list of EU crimes defined in the Treaty. Sadly, that moment is here. With the Polish government’s latest statements, the blockage in the Council will grow stronger. Therefore, we believe that the time has come to present these proposals. Madam President, you will give your first State of the Union during the next plenary session of the European Parliament. As long as women’s rights are not respected and protected, the state of our Union cannot be strong. We therefore ask you, as the first female President of the European Commission, to take concrete measures, which ensure the implementation and respect of the provisions of the Istanbul Convention in all Member States. Last week, the European Parliament expressed that it strongly regrets the weakened language to uphold the rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy in the framework of the MFF and the Next Generation EU (NGEU) instrument. These latest developments show once again how much a comprehensive and inter-institutional Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights monitoring mechanism is needed, coupled with an effective conditionality mechanism. This will reinforce the protection of the rights of countless people within our Union. Member States should see budgetary consequences when they violate our core principles. The time has come to truly defend our values. If we do not, others will try to undo what took generations to build. Yours Sincerely, Dacian Cioloș, President of Renew Europe Samira Rafaela, Coordinator for Renew Europe on the Committee for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Sophie in ‘t Veld, Coordinator for Renew Europe on the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee Irène Tolleret Soraya Rodríguez Ramos Abir Al-Sahlani Radka Maxová Karen Melchior Chrysoula Zacharopoulou Susana Solís Pérez Moritz Körner Billy Kelleher Nathalie Loiseau Karin Karlsbro Hilde Vautmans Iskra Mihaylova Atidzhe Alieva-Veli Elsi Katainen Ramona Strugariu Laurence Farreng Monica Semedo Olivier Chastel Izaskun Bilbao Barandica Marie-Pierre Vedrenne Dragoș Pîslaru Ilana Cicurel Katalin Cseh Nicola Danti Irena Joveva Frédérique Ries Nicola Beer Svenja Hahn Liesje Schreinemacher Fabienne Keller Charles Goerens Claudia Gamon Adrián Vázquez Lázara Klemen Grošelj Jan-Christoph Oetjen Guy Verhofstadt Barry Andrews Jordi Cañas Anna Donáth .