After obtaining the consent of the European Parliament (see EUROPE 13179/9), the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU will submit the two decisions on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention by the Union for approval by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper II) on Wednesday 24 May.
A ratification in early June?
As this is a “mixed” agreement, the two decisions concern only those areas of the Convention in which the EU has competence, namely its application within the EU institutions and administrations, on the one hand, and judicial cooperation, asylum and non-pushback, on the other (see EUROPE 13126/12).
To be valid, they only need a qualified majority, according to a decision of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) (see EUROPE 12806/20). The final vote in the EU Council should take place as early as 1 June.
A snowball effect
At a press conference on Tuesday 23 May, the European Parliament rapporteurs on the dossier, Arba Kokalari (EPP, Sweden) and Łukasz Kohut (S&D, Poland), stressed that EU ratification could encourage the six Member States that have not done so to follow suit in the EU Council.
For example, Kohut said that the European Parliament’s “strong signal” on the issue has already inspired “positive statements in favour of women”. Last week, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and Czech President Petr Pavel hinted that their countries might ratify the convention. “I would like to wish the same courage to the European conservative governments,” he concluded.
Furthermore, Ms Kokalari recalled that the European Commission will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention in all Member States. “Even those who have not yet ratified the Istanbul Convention will have to comply with part of it, as they are part of the EU”, she summarised, adding that with this additional pressure, all EU countries will eventually join. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)