Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 17th meeting of the Committee of the Parties of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence on the adoption of a decision on the procedure for issuing recommendations to Parties in the first thematic evaluation round, with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters
Date: 2024-11-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: European convention, gender equality, help for victims, judicial cooperation, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, recommendation, sexual discrimination, violence, women's rights

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.11.2024  COM(2024) 526 final 2024/0292 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 17th meeting of the Committee of the Parties of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence on the adoption of a decision on the procedure for issuing recommendations to Parties   in the first thematic evaluation round, with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf 
at  the  17th  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  the  Parties  (‘CoP’)  of  the  Council  of  Europe 
Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against  women  and  domestic  violence 
(‘the Istanbul Convention’ or ‘the Convention’) on 17 December 2024, in connection with the 
envisaged adoption of a draft decision concerning the Committee’s new procedure for issuing 
recommendations  to  Parties  on  their  implementation  of  the  Convention,  based  on  the  first 
thematic  evaluation  round  by  the  Group  of  Experts  on  Action  against  Violence  against 
Women  and  Domestic  Violence  (‘GREVIO)  entitled  “Building  trust  by  delivering  support, 
protection and justice”. 

2. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The Istanbul Convention 

The  Istanbul  Convention  aims  to  lay  down  a  comprehensive  and  harmonised  set  of  rules  to 
prevent  and  combat  violence  against  women  and  domestic  violence  in  Europe  and  beyond. 
The Convention entered into force on 1 August 2014.  

The EU signed the Convention in June 2017, and completed the accession procedure with the 
deposit of two instruments of approval on 28 June 2023, triggering the entry into force of the 
Convention for the EU on 1 October 2023. The EU has acceded to the Convention as regards 
matters  falling  within  its  exclusive  competence,  namely  with  regard  to  matters  related  to 
institutions  and  public  administration  of  the  Union1  and  with  regard  to  matters  related  to 
judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement2. All EU Member States 
have signed the Convention and 22 have ratified it3. 

The Committee of the Parties 

2.2. 
The  CoP4  is  composed  of  the  representatives  of  the  Parties  to  the  Convention.  Parties  must 
endeavour  to  nominate,  as  their  representatives,  experts  of  the  highest  possible  rank  in  the 
field of preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence5. The tasks 
entrusted to the CoP are listed in Rule 1 of its Rules of Procedure6. On 1 October 2023 the EU 
became a Party to the Istanbul Convention, and thus a member of the CoP (Article 67(1) of 
the Convention). 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

Council Decision (EU) 2023/1075 of 1 June 2023 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, 
of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against  women  and 
domestic  violence  with  regard  to  institutions  and  public  administration  of  the  Union,  OJ  L  143 I, 
2.6.2023, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2023/1075/oj. 
Council Decision (EU) 2023/1076 of 1 June 2023 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, 
of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against  women  and 
domestic violence with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and 
non-refoulement, OJ L 143 I, 2.6.2023, p. 4, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2023/1076/oj). 
Status of ratifications on November 2024: AT (2013); BE (2016); CY (2017); DE (2017); DK (2014); 
IE (2019); EL (2018); ES (2014); EE (2017) FI (2015); FR (2014); HR (2018); IT (2013); LU (2018); 
MT (2014); NL (2015); PL (2015); PT (2013); RO (2016); SI (2015); SV (2014), LV (2023).  
Committee of the Parties  - Istanbul Convention Action against violence against women and domestic 
violence (coe.int) 
Rule 2.1.b of the Rules of Procedure of the Committee of the Parties. 
Document IC-CP(2015)2, adopted on 4 May 2015. 

EN 

1 

  EN 

 
 
2.3. 

 The monitoring mechanism of the Istanbul Convention 

The Istanbul Convention sets up a monitoring mechanism to ensure effective implementation 
of  its  provisions  by  the  Parties7.  The  purpose  is  to  assess  how  the  provisions  of  the 
Convention  are  put  into  practice  and  to  provide  guidance  to  Parties.  This  monitoring 
mechanism consists of two distinct, but interacting, bodies: GREVIO and the CoP. GREVIO 
is  an  independent  group  of  experts  tasked  to  monitor  the  implementation  of  the  Istanbul 
Convention  on  a  country-by-country  basis,  in  accordance  with  Article  66(1)  of  the 
Convention.  

The  monitoring  procedure  is  set  out  in  Article  68  of  the  Convention.  In  accordance  with 
Article  68(1),  Parties  are  required  to  submit  a  report,  based  on  a  questionnaire  prepared  by 
GREVIO, detailing legislative and other measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the 
Convention. This procedure, referred to as the baseline evaluation procedure, provides a first 
comprehensive  overview  of  the  Party's  implementation  of  nearly  all  provisions  of  the 
Convention. Based on the questionnaire and additional information from other relevant actors, 
GREVIO drafts a report that includes proposals for measures the Party should take to fulfil its 
obligations under the Convention. 

On the basis of GREVIO’s reports and its conclusions, the CoP, in  accordance with  Article 
68(12) of the Convention, may adopt recommendations addressed to the Party concerned on 
the  implementation  of  the  Convention  and  set  a  date  for  submitting  information  on  their 
implementation.  Based  on  this  provision,  the  CoP  has  been  adopting  recommendations  to 
State Parties which differentiate between those actions which it considers the Party concerned 
should take as soon as possible, with a requirement to report back to it on steps taken in this 
regard within a three year-period, and those which, while important, the CoP considers could 
be left at a secondary level of immediacy. 

The applicable procedure for issuing recommendations based on GREVIO’s baseline reports 
was  established  by  the  Committee  at  its  4th  meeting  on  30  January  2018  and  is  outlined  in 
document IC-CP(2018)68. In summary, it was agreed that recommendations should focus on 
shortcomings  identified  by  GREVIO  as  requiring  immediate  action,  indicated  by  the  verb 
"urges", and those within Chapters I and II of the Convention that require remedial action in 
the near future, as indicated by the verb "strongly encourages." 

While  GREVIO  considers  all  its  proposals  important,  it  has  established  a  hierarchy  of 
urgency,  expressed  through  the  use  of  different  verbs:  "urge,"  "strongly  encourage," 
"encourage," and "invite." The CoP specifically decided to include in its recommendations the 
"strongly  encourages"  proposals  from  Chapters  I  and  II  of  the  Convention  due  to  their 
particularly high importance, as they provide the foundation for the effective implementation 
of  the  rest  of  the  Convention.  GREVIO  had  also  identified  significant  gaps  in  the 
implementation  of  these  Chapters.  It  was  further  agreed  that  Parties  should  be  given  three 
years to implement the CoP's recommendations and report back. Lastly, the  CoP decided to 
explicitly  invite  the  Party  to  implement  the  remaining  proposals  from  GREVIO,  without 
requiring  further  reporting  on  those  less  urgent  issues,  as  a  way  to  endorse  GREVIO’s 
proposals in their entirety. 

7 
8 

Article 1(2) of the Istanbul Convention. 
Discussion  Paper  on  the  adoption  of  Recommendations  by  the  Committee  of  the  Parties  in  light  of 
GREVIO's reports and proposals/suggestions, IC-CP(2018)6. 

EN 

2 

  EN 

 
 
 
2.4. 

The thematic evaluation rounds 

As  the  baseline  evaluation  procedure  has  been  completed  for  nearly  all  Parties  to  the 
Convention,  GREVIO  decided  in  late  2022  to  move  to  the  next  phase  in  the  evaluation  of 
State  Parties’  compliance  with  the  Convention.  In  accordance  with  Article  68(3)  of  the 
Convention,  GREVIO’s  evaluation  procedures  following  the  baseline  evaluation  shall  be 
divided into rounds. At the beginning of each round, GREVIO shall select specific provisions 
to evaluate and send out a questionnaire to gather information on their implementation. On the 
basis of the information collected, GREVIO will issue reports. This process is referred to as 
GREVIO’s thematic evaluation rounds. 

The  first  thematic  evaluation  round  is  entitled  "Building  Trust  by  Delivering  Support, 
Protection and Justice" and will run from 2023 to 2031. While the baseline evaluation covered 
around  60  articles  of  the  Istanbul  Convention,  the  new  thematic  evaluation  procedure 
addresses  19  specific  provisions9.  These  provisions  set  out  standards  for  law  enforcement 
agencies,  criminal  justice actors, the provision  of general  and specialist support services  for 
victims,  and  an  overall  victim-centred  approach.  The  aim  is  to  provide  a  more  in-depth 
assessment of these areas, focusing on the progress made under each provision. 

In order to adopt recommendations to Parties based on GREVIO’s new thematic evaluation, 
the  CoP  needs  to  establish  a  dedicated  procedure.  A  preliminary  discussion  on  this  matter 
took place at the CoP meeting on 3 May 2024, based on a discussion paper prepared by the 
Secretariat [IC-CP(2024)6]10. Following this discussion, the CoP Secretariat circulated a draft 
issuing  such 
decision  [IC-CP(2024)10] 
recommendations,  along  with  a 
the 
template  outlining 
recommendations  to  be  addressed  to  the  Parties11.The  draft  decision  is  largely  based  on  the 
applicable procedure for issuing recommendations based on GREVIO’s baseline reports. 

the  proposed  structure  of 

in  September  2024  on 

the  procedure  for 

The envisaged act of the Committee of the Parties 

2.5. 
During its 17th meeting on 17 December 2024, it is foreseen that the CoP will proceed with 
the adoption of a decision on the Committee’s new procedure for issuing recommendations to 
Parties on their implementation of the Istanbul Convention based on GREVIO’s first thematic 
evaluation  reports,  along  with  a 
the  structure  of  such  future 
recommendations (‘the envisaged act’).  

template  outlining 

The  procedure  as  proposed  by  the  CoP  Secretariat  in  document  IC-CP(2024)10  can  be 
summarised as follows: 

– 

The  recommendations  should  cover  the  proposals  in  the  thematic  evaluation 
reports  that  GREVIO  considers  should  be  remedied  with  particular  urgency 
(“urges”) and those which GREVIO considers should be remedied in the near 
future (“strongly encourages”), concerning all chapters of the Convention. 

9 

10 

11 

Articles  7,  8,  11,  12,  14,  15,  16,  18,  20,  22,  25,  31,  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53  and  56  of  the  Istanbul 
Convention, GREVIO Questionnaire for the evaluation of the implementation of the Council of Europe 
Convention  on  Preventing  and  Combating  Violence  against  Women  and  Domestic  Violence  by  the 
Parties  1  st  thematic  evaluation  round:  Building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and  justice: 
1680a90c67 (coe.int) 
Entitled Discussion paper on the adoption of recommendations by the Committee of the Parties in light 
of GREVIO's first thematic evaluation reports and proposals/suggestions made. 
Decision on the recommendations to be adopted by the Committee of the Parties in light of GREVIO's 
reports adopted as part of its first thematic round of evaluation [IC-CP(2024)10] 

EN 

3 

  EN 

 
 
– 

– 

The CoP shall supervise the implementation of these recommendations, in line 
with  its  Rules  of  Procedure,  by  requesting  that  the  Party  submits  a  written 
report on how  it has implemented the recommendations within three years of 
the  adoption  of  the  recommendations.  The  CoP  may  thereafter  choose  to  not 
take  any  further  steps  in  its  supervision  to  avoid  overlap  with  any  future 
evaluation rounds by GREVIO. 

The recommendations should explicitly recommend that the Party implements 
the remaining proposals from GREVIO, without requiring further reporting on 
these  less  urgent  issues,  as  a  way  to  endorse  GREVIO’s  conclusions  in  their 
entirety, and invite the Party to a continued dialogue with GREVIO. 

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

The envisaged act concerns the CoP Secretariat’s proposal for the scope of and the procedure 
for  issuing  recommendations  to  Parties  on  their  implementation  of  the  Istanbul  Convention 
based  on  GREVIO’s  first  thematic  evaluation  reports,  along  with  a  template  outlining  the 
structure  of  such  future  recommendations.  The  thematic  evaluation  round  concerns  Parties’ 
implementation  of  provisions  of  the  Convention  which  relate  to  judicial  cooperation  in 
criminal  matters,  such  as  matters  relating  to  protection  and  support  of  victims  of  violence 
against women and domestic violence. The recommendations adopted by CoP are capable of 
decisively influencing the content of Union law in that they may affect the interpretation of 
relevant  provisions  of  the  Convention  in  the  future.  The  envisaged  act  determines  the 
procedure for the adoption of recommendations and the supervision of the implementation of 
recommendations  issued  to  the  Parties  and  will  be  binding  on  the  Union.  Therefore,  it  is 
appropriate  to  establish  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union’s  behalf  in  the  CoP  on  the 
envisaged act, with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters. 

It is proposed that the EU agrees with the Secretariat’s proposal, as  the suggested procedure 
aligns with the baseline evaluation procedure which has been effective and ensures effective 
implementation  of  all  provisions  chosen  for  the  thematic  evaluation,  while  avoiding 
overlapping monitoring processes. 

A proposed change compared to the baseline evaluation procedure pertains to the scope of the 
recommendations. The new proposal would broaden the scope to include all conclusions that 
GREVIO  deems  requiring  urgent  action  ("strongly  encourages"),  rather  than  limiting 
recommendations to Chapters I and II of the Convention as per the previous procedure. This 
broader  scope  should  be  acceptable,  as  the  overall  number  of  conclusions  are  likely  to  be 
reduced  compared  to  GREVIO’s  baseline  evaluation  reports,  given  that  the  thematic  report 
only addresses nineteen Articles of the Convention.  

In addition, a minor change in the proposal is that it explicitly states that the CoP may choose 
not to take further supervisory steps after receiving written reports on the implementation of 
the  recommendations,  to  avoid  overlap  with  future  evaluation  rounds  by  GREVIO.  This 
address concerns raised by Parties regarding overlapping monitoring processes, as they have 
had  to  manage  both  baseline  and  thematic  evaluations  simultaneously.  This  should  also  be 
acceptable, given the need to streamline procedures and reduce the burden on Parties. 

Another minor change is that it is explicitly stated that the CoP invites the Party to continue 
the dialogue  on  progress  with  GREVIO. This  should  also  be  acceptable  as  such dialogue  is 
voluntary and may be helpful for the Party in question. 

EN 

4 

  EN 

4. 

LEGAL BASIS 

4.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

4.1.1.  Principles 

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for 
decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by 
an  agreement,  when  that  body  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  with  the 
exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ 

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the 
rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do 
not  have  a  binding  effect  under  international  law,  but  that  are  ‘capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’12. 

4.1.2.  Application to the present case 

The Committee of the Parties is a body set up by the Istanbul Convention. The draft decision 
which  the  Committee  of  the  Parties  is  called  upon  to  adopt  constitutes  an  act  having  legal 
effects  as  it  will  determine  the  procedure  for  the  adoption  and  the  supervision  of  the 
implementation of recommendations to Parties based on the thematic evaluation round in the 
area  of  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  which  may  affect  the  interpretation  of 
relevant  provisions  of  the  Convention  in  the  future,  and  are  therefore  capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of Union law. Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed 
decision is Article 218(9) TFEU 

4.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

4.2.1.  Principles 

The  substantive  legal  basis  for  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  depends  primarily  on 
the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the 
Union's  behalf.  If the  envisaged act  pursues two  aims or has two components  and if one of 
those  aims  or  components  is  identifiable  as  the  main  one,  whereas  the  other  is  merely 
incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive 
legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component. 

With regard to an envisaged act that simultaneously pursues a number of objectives, or that 
has  several  components,  which  are  inseparably  linked  without  one  being  incidental  to  the 
other,  the  substantive  legal  basis  of  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  will  have  to 
include, exceptionally, the various corresponding legal bases. 

4.2.2.  Application to the present case 

The main objective of the envisaged act  is  to  set the procedures to  enable the CoP to  adopt 
recommendations  to  Parties  based  on  GREVIO’s  new  thematic  evaluation  reports.  The 
thematic evaluation round concerns Parties’ implementation of provisions of the Convention 
which relate to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, such as matters relating to protection 
and  support  of  victims  of  violence  against  women  and  domestic  violence.  The  EU  has 
acceded to the Istanbul Convention as regards matters falling within its exclusive competence, 
namely  with  regard  to  matters  related  to  institutions  and  public  administration  of  the 

12 

Judgment  of 
ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraphs 61 to 64.  

the  Court  of  Justice  of  7  October  2014,  Germany  v  Council,  C-399/12, 

EN 

5 

  EN 

 
 
Union13and with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum 
and  non-refoulement14.  The  EU  accession  to  the  Istanbul  Convention  was  split  into  two 
separate Council Decisions to take into account the special position of Denmark and Ireland 
with respect to Title V of the TFEU. Consequently, also the decision establishing the position 
to be taken on the Union's behalf in the CoP in relation to the envisaged act is to be split into 
two parallel decisions.  

The  envisaged  act  pursues  objectives  in  the  area  of  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters 
(Article  82(2)  and  Article  84  TFEU)  which  are  inseparably  linked  without  one  being 
incidental  to  the  other.  Therefore,  the  substantive  legal  basis  of  the  proposed  decision 
comprises the following provisions: Article 82(2) and Article 84 TFUE.  

4.3. 

Conclusion 

The  legal  basis  of  the  proposed  decision  should  be  Article  82(2)  and  Article  84  TFEU,  in 
conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU. 

13 

14 

Council Decision (EU) 2023/1075 of 1 June 2023 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European  Union, 
of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against  women  and 
domestic  violence  with  regard  to  institutions  and  public  administration  of  the  Union,  OJ  L  143  I, 
2.6.2023, p. 1–3. 
Council Decision (EU) 2023/1076 of 1 June 2023 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, 
of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against  women  and 
domestic violence with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and 
non-refoulement, OJ L 143 I, 2.6.2023, p. 4–6. 

EN 

6 

  EN 

 
 
2024/0292 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the 17th meeting of the 
Committee of the Parties of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and 
Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence on the adoption of a 
decision on the procedure for issuing recommendations to Parties   in the first thematic 
evaluation round, with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal 
matters 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 82(2) and Article 84, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against 
women  and  domestic  violence  (‘the  Convention’)  was  concluded  by  the  Union  by 
Council  Decision  (EU)  2023/107515,  with  regard 
institutions  and  public 
administration of the Union, and by Council Decision (EU) 2023/107616, with regard 
to  matters  related  to  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  asylum  and  non-
refoulement,  insofar  as  they  fall  within  the  exclusive  competence  of  the  Union,  and 
entered into force for the Union on 1 October 2023.  

to 

In accordance with Article 66(1) of the Convention, the Group of  Experts on Action 
against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (‘GREVIO’) has been tasked 
with  monitoring  the  implementation  of  the  Convention  by  its  Parties.  In  accordance 
with Article 68(3) of the Convention, the subsequent evaluation procedures following 
GREVIO’s initial  baseline evaluation procedure, shall be divided into rounds,  which 
are referred to as GREVIO’s thematic evaluation rounds. Pursuant to Article 68(11) of 
the  Convention,  GREVIO  is  to  adopt  its  report  and  conclusions  concerning  the 
measures  taken  by  the  Party  concerned  to  implement  the  relevant  provisions  of  the 
Convention.  Based  on  the  GREVIO  reports,  the  Committee  of  the  Parties  to  the 
Convention  may  adopt  recommendations  addressed  to  the  Party  concerned,  in 
accordance with Article 68(12) of the Convention.  

(3) 

The  first  thematic  evaluation  round,  entitled  "Building  Trust  by  Delivering  Support, 
Protection  and  Justice"  was  launched  in  2022  and  will  run  from  2023  to  2031.  It 

15 

16 

Council Decision (EU) 2023/1075 of 1 June 2023 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, 
of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against  women  and 
domestic  violence  with  regard  to  institutions  and  public  administration  of  the  Union,  OJ  L  143  I, 
2.6.2023, p. 1–3. 
Council Decision (EU) 2023/1076 of 1 June 2023 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, 
of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against  women  and 
domestic violence with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and 
non-refoulement, OJ L 143 I, 2.6.2023, p. 4–6.  

EN 

7 

  EN 

 
addresses  19  specific  provisions  of  the  Convention17  and  concerns  Parties’ 
implementation of provisions of the Convention which relate to judicial cooperation in 
criminal  matters,  such  as  matters  relating  to  protection  and  support  of  victims  of 
violence against women and domestic violence. 

In  September  2024,  the  Secretariat  of  the  Committee  of  the  Parties  shared  a  draft 
decision  on  the  recommendations  to  be  adopted  by  the  Committee  of  the  Parties  in 
light of GREVIO's reports adopted as part of its first thematic round of evaluation [IC-
CP(2024)10],  which  provides  for  a  procedure  for  the  adoption  of  recommendations 
and their subsequent supervision by the Committee of the Parties and contains a model 
recommendation. The draft decision is to be discussed and, if possible, adopted at the 
17th meeting of the Committee of the Parties on 17 December 2024. 

It  is  appropriate  to  establish  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union’s  behalf  in  the 
Committee  of  the  Parties  as  the  envisaged  act  will  determine  the  procedure  for  the 
adoption and the supervision of the implementation of recommendations addressed to 
Parties with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Those 
recommendations will be capable of decisively influencing the content of Union law in 
that they may affect the interpretation of relevant provisions of the Convention in the 
future. 

According  to  the  draft  decision,  the  recommendations  should  be  limited  to  the  most 
pressing  concerns  identified  by  GREVIO  in  its  reports.  These  include  shortcomings 
that GREVIO considers requiring immediate action, where it uses the verb “urges”, as 
well  as  those  issues  that  GREVIO  believes  should  be  remedied  in  the  near  future, 
indicated by the verb “strongly encourages”, covering all chapters of the Convention.  

As  regards  the  supervision,  the  draft  decision  provides  that  the  Committee  of  the 
Parties should supervise the implementation of these recommendations by requesting 
the Party to submit a written report on the measures taken within a 3-year period after 
the  adoption  of  the  recommendations.  The  Committee  of  the  Parties  may  thereafter 
choose to not take any further steps in its supervision to avoid overlap with any future 
evaluation rounds by GREVIO. 

Lastly,  the  draft  decision  provides  that  the  recommendations  should  recommend  the 
Party to  implement  the remaining, less urgent proposals  from  GREVIO,  as  a way to 
endorse GREVIO’s conclusions in their entirety, and to invite the Party to a continued 
dialogue with GREVIO. 

It is proposed that the Union agrees with the draft decision, as the suggested procedure 
aligns  with  the  baseline  evaluation  procedure  which  has  been  effective  and  ensures 
effective  implementation  of  all  provisions  chosen  for  the  thematic  evaluation,  while 
avoiding overlapping monitoring processes. 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10)  The position of the Union within the Committee of the Parties should therefore be  to 
support the adoption of the draft decision in document IC-CP(2024)10, including the 
proposed model recommendation in its Appendix I. 

(11) 

In order to allow for the necessary flexibility during the meeting of the Committee of 
the  Parties,  it  should  be  provided  that  minor  changes  to  the  draft  decision  may  be 
agreed without further decision of the Council.  

17 

Articles  7,  8,  11,  12,  14,  15,  16,  18,  20,  22,  25,  31,  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53  and  56  of  the  Istanbul 
Convention. 

EN 

8 

  EN 

 
(12) 

(13) 

Ireland is not bound by Council Decision (EU) 2023/1076 and is therefore not taking 
part in the adoption of this Decision. 

In  accordance  with  Articles  1  and  2  of  Protocol  No  22  on  the  position  of  Denmark, 
annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the 
European Union, Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Decision and is not 
bound by it or subject to its application,  

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The position to be taken on behalf of the Union at the 17th meeting of the Committee of the 
Parties, established under Article 67 of the Convention, shall be to support the adoption of the 
decision  on  the  recommendations  to  be  adopted  by  the  Committee  of  the  Parties  in  light  of 
GREVIO's reports adopted as part of its first thematic round of evaluation [IC-CP(2024)10], 
including the proposed model recommendation in its Appendix I. 

Minor changes to the draft decision IC-CP(2024)10, including its Appendix 1, may be agreed 
to by the representatives of the Union at the Committee of the Parties without further decision 
of the Council.  

Article 2 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 3 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

9 

  EN