Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, at its 19th meeting, on the recommendations and conclusions addressed to certain Parties on their implementation of that Convention, with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement
Date: 2025-11-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: European convention, gender equality, help for victims, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, recommendation, removal, right of asylum, sexual violence, violence, women's rights

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 19.11.2025  COM(2025) 712 final 2025/0366 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, at its 19th meeting, on the recommendations and conclusions addressed to certain Parties on their implementation of that Convention, with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement   
 
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 19th meeting of the Committee of the Parties (‘CoP’ or ‘the Committee’) of the 
Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against  women  and 
domestic violence (‘the Istanbul Convention’ or ‘the Convention’) on  11 December 2025, in 
connection  with  the  envisaged  adoption  of  eight  draft  recommendations  and  one  draft 
conclusion addressed to nine Parties on their implementation of the Convention. 

2. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The Istanbul Convention 

The Istanbul Convention lays 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  Union  1  and  with  regard  to  matters  related  to 
judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  asylum  and  non-refoulement  2.  All  EU  Member 
States have signed the Convention and 22 have ratified it 3. 

The Committee of the Parties 

2.2. 
The CoP  4 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 violence 5. The tasks 
entrusted to the CoP are listed in Rule 1 of its Rules of Procedure  6. On 1 October 2023 the 
EU became a Party to the Convention, and, as such, 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  12  November2025:  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 Procedures of the Committee of the Parties. 
Document IC-CP(2015)2, adopted on 4 May 2015. 

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2.3. 

The monitoring mechanism of the Istanbul Convention 

The Istanbul  Convention  establishes  a  monitoring  mechanism  to  ensure  its  effective 
implementation  by  the  Parties  7.  The  purpose  is  to  assess  how  the  Convention  is  put  into 
practice  and  to  provide  guidance  to  the  Parties.  The  monitoring  mechanism  consists  of  two 
distinct but interacting bodies: an independent expert body (the Group of Experts on Action 
against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence ‘GREVIO’) and the CoP. 

GREVIO  is  an  independent  group  of  experts  tasked  with  monitoring  the  Convention’s 
implementation  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) of the Convention, new Parties are required to submit a report 
(based  on  a  questionnaire  prepared  by  GREVIO)  that  details  the  legislative  and  other 
measures they have taken to give effect to the Convention. GREVIO prepares a report on the 
measures taken by that Party concerned to implement the Convention, and makes suggestions 
and proposals on how that Party may deal with problems that have been identified 8. 

The  CoP,  based  on  GREVIO’s  report  and  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  deadline  for  the  Party  to  submit  a  response  on 
their  implementation  of  the  recommendations.  Based  on  this  provision,  the  CoP  has  been 
adopting recommendations to Parties which differentiate between actions that should be taken 
as soon as possible, with a requirement to report back within a three-year period, and actions 
that while important, do not carry the same level of immediacy. At the end of the three-year 
period,  the  Party  must  report  back  to  the  CoP  on  the  progress  made  in  implementing  the 
recommendations  that  were  addressed  to  it.  On  the  basis  of  this  information,  and  any 
additional information  obtained,  the secretariat  of the Committee  9 prepares the  conclusions 
on the implementation of the recommendations in relation to each Party under review, which 
the CoP adopts. 

As  the  baseline  evaluation  procedure  has  been  completed  for  nearly  all  Parties,  GREVIO 
decided in  late 2022 to  move to  the next  phase  in  its evaluation.  Under  Article 68(3) of the 
Convention,  GREVIO’s  evaluation  procedures  following  the  baseline  evaluation  shall  be 
divided  into  rounds  (‘thematic  evaluation  rounds’).  The  first  thematic  evaluation  round  is 
entitled ‘Building Trust by Delivering Support, Protection and Justice’ which runs from 2023 
to 2031. While the baseline evaluation covered around 60 articles of the Istanbul Convention, 
the new thematic evaluation procedure addresses 20 articles, namely Articles 3, 7, 8, 11, 12, 
14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25, 31, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 and 56. These articles 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 article. At 
its  meeting  in  December  2024,  the  CoP  adopted  a  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 10. 

7 
8 
9 

10 

Article 1(2) of the Istanbul Convention. 
Article 68(10)of the Istanbul Convention. 
The  applicable  procedure  for  supervising  the  implementation  and  the  reporting  is  defined  in  the 
‘Framework  for  supervising  the  implementation  of  the  recommendations  addressed  to  state  parties’, 
adopted by the CoP on 13 April 2021, IC-CP/Inf(2021)2. 
Contained in document  IC-CP(2024)10 rev. 

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To  date,  the  CoP’s  practice  has  been  to  adopt  recommendations  and  conclusions  based  on 
consensus  at  its  meetings  which  take  place  upon  request  11,  by  one  third  of  the  Parties,  the 
President of the Committee of the Parties or the Secretary General, usually twice a year. 

2.4. 

The envisaged acts of the Committee of the Parties 

On 11 December 2025, during its 19th meeting, it is foreseen that the CoP will proceed with 
the adoption of eight draft recommendations (one based on the baseline evaluation procedure 
and  seven  based  on  the  first  thematic  evaluation  round)  as  well  as  one  conclusion 
(respectively  the  ‘draft  recommendations’  and  the  ‘draft  conclusions’,  and  jointly  the 
‘envisaged acts’)): 

(1)  Recommendation  on  the  implementation  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  the 

United Kingdom, contained in document IC-CP(2025)22prov; 

(2)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Andorra,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)23prov; 

(3)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Belgium,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)24revprov; 

(4)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  France,  contained  in 
document  IC-CP(2025)25prov; 

(5)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice on the basis of the Istanbul Convention by Italy, contained in document  
IC-CP(2025)26prov; 

(6)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice on the basis of the Istanbul Convention by the Netherlands, contained in 
document  IC-CP(2025)27prov; 

(7)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
Istanbul  Convention  by  Portugal 

the  basis  of 

the 

justice  on 
[IC-CP(2025)28prov]; 

(8)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Serbia,  contained  in 
document  IC-CP(2025)29prov; and 

(9)  Conclusions  on  the  implementation  of  recommendations  in  respect  of  Poland 
in  document 

the  Parties,  contained 

the  Committee  of 

adopted  by 
IC-CP(2025)30prov. 

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION’S BEHALF 

The envisaged acts concern the implementation of provisions of the Convention which relate 
to  judicial cooperation in criminal  matters, such as matters  on  the protection of victims and 
support for victims of violence against women and domestic violence, and the implementation 
of provisions on asylum and non-refoulement. These matters are covered by the Union acquis, 

11 

Article 67(2) of the Convention. 

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in particular the Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence 12, the 
Victims’ Rights Directive  13, the Asylum Procedures Regulation  14, the Reception Standards 
Directive  15  and  the  Family  Reunification  Directive  16.  They  fall  within  the  EU’s  exclusive 
competence insofar as the relevant provisions of the Convention may affect common rules or 
alter  their  scope  within  the  meaning  of  Article 3(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European  Union  (TFEU).  As  the  envisaged  acts  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, it is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Unions 
behalf  in  the  CoP  with  regard  to  matters  related  to  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters, 
asylum and non-refoulement. 

The  draft  recommendations  and  the  draft  conclusions  on  matters  falling  within  the 
competence of the Union are in line with the Union’s objectives and policies in the areas of 
judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  asylum  and  non-refoulement  and  do  not  raise  any 
concerns with respect to Union law. It is therefore proposed that the Union does not object to 
the adoption of the draft recommendations and conclusions at the 19th meeting of the CoP. 

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’ 17. 

4.1.2.  Application to the present case 

The CoP is a body set up by the Istanbul Convention. The envisaged acts which the CoP is 
called  upon  to  adopt  constitute  acts  having  legal  effects.  The  envisaged  acts  are  capable  of 
decisively influencing the content of Union law, because they may affect the interpretation of 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

L, 

and 

(OJ 

against 

women 

violence 

Directive  2024/1385  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14 May  2024  on  combating 
2024/1385, 
domestic 
violence 
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1385/o). 
Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing 
minimum  standards  on  the  rights,  support  and  protection  of  victims  of  crime,  and  replacing  Council 
Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (OJ L 315, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2012/29/oj). 
Regulation 2024/1348 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common procedure 
for  international  protection  in  the  Union  and  repealing  Directive  2013/32/EU  (OJ  L,  2024/1348, 
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1348/oj). 
Directive 2024/1346 EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 laying down 
standards  for  the  reception  of  applicants  for  international  protection  (OJ  L,  2024/1346,  ELI: 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1346/OJ). 
Directive  2003/86  of  22 September  2003  on  the  right  to  family  reunification  (OJ  L  251,  ELI: 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/86/oj). 
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, 

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the  relevant  provisions  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  in  the  future.  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 

As  regards  the  substantive  legal  basis,  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 Union 18 and with regard to matters related to 
judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement  19. The EU’s 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 TFEU. Consequently, the 
decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the CoP also needs to 
be split into two decisions, when the relevant recommendations or conclusions concern both 
matters. 

The envisaged acts pursue objectives and have components in the area of judicial cooperation 
in  criminal  matters  (Article 82(2)  and  Article 84  TFEU),  as  well  as  on  asylum  and  non-
refoulement (Articles 78(2) TFEU). They are inseparably linked without one being incidental 
to  the  other.  Therefore,  the  substantive  legal  basis  for  the  proposed  decision  comprises  the 
following provisions: Article 78(2), Article 82(2) and Article 84 TFEU. 

4.3. 

Conclusion 

The legal basis of the proposed decision should be Article 78(2), Article 82(2) and Article 84, 
in conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU. 

18 

19 

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). 

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2025/0366 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Committee of the 
Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence 
against women and domestic violence, at its 19th meeting, on the recommendations and 
conclusions addressed to certain Parties on their implementation of that Convention, 
with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and 
non-refoulement 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 78(2), 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) 

(3) 

20 

21 

The  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and  combating  violence  against 
women  and  domestic  violence  (‘the  Convention’)  was  concluded  by  the  Union  by 
means  of  Council  Decision  (EU)  2023/1075  20  with  regard  to  institutions  and  public 
administration  of  the  Union,  and  by  means  of  Council  Decision  (EU)  2023/1076  21 
with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and 
non-refoulement,  insofar as  such matters fall within the exclusive competence of the 
Union, and entered into force for the Union on 1 October 2023. 

Pursuant  to  Article 66(1)  of  the  Convention,  the  Group  of  experts  on  action  against 
violence  against  women  and  domestic  violence  (‘GREVIO’)  is  to  monitor  the 
implementation of the Convention by the Parties to the Convention (the ‘Parties’). In 
accordance with 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 
provisions of the Convention. 

The  Committee  of  the  Parties  (the  ‘Committee’)  is  able  to  adopt  recommendations 
addressed  to  the  Party  concerned,  in  accordance  with  Article 68(12)  of  the 
Convention,  on  the  basis  of  the  report  and  conclusions  of  GREVIO.  Such 
recommendations  are  to  differentiate  between  measures  to  be  taken  as  soon  as 
possible,  with  a  requirement  to  report  back  to  the  Committee  within  a  three-year 

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), Decision - 2023/1075 - EN - EUR-Lex. 
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), Decision - 2023/1076 - EN - EUR-Lex. 

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(4) 

(5) 

period,  and  measures  which,  while  important,  do  not  carry  the  same  level  of 
immediacy.  At  the  end  of  that  three-year  period,  the  Party  must  report  back  to  the 
Committee on the measures taken, within 10 specific areas of the Convention.  Based 
on that report, and any additional information, the Committee is to adopt conclusions 
on  the  implementation  of  the  recommendations,  prepared  by  the  secretariat  of  the 
Committee. 

Pursuant  to  Article 68(3)  of  the  Convention,  the  evaluation  procedures  following 
GREVIO’s  initial  baseline  evaluation  procedure  are  to  be  divided  into  rounds 
(‘thematic  evaluation  rounds’).  The  first  thematic  evaluation  round  is  entitled 
‘Building  Trust  by  Delivering  Support,  Protection  and  Justice’  and  addresses  20  
articles of the Convention, namely Articles 3, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25, 
31,  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53  and  56.  At  its  17th  meeting  on  17 December  2024,  the 
Committee  adopted  a  Decision  on  the  recommendations  to  be  adopted  by  the 
Committee  of  the  Parties  in  light  of  GREVIO’s  reports  adopted  as  part  of  the  first 
thematic evaluation round contained in document IC-CP(2024)10 rev. 

The Committee, during its 19th  meeting on  11 December  2025, is  expected to  adopt 
the following draft recommendations (one based on the baseline evaluation round and 
seven  based  on  the  first  thematic  evaluation  round)  and    draft  conclusions,  on  the 
the  ‘draft 
implementation  of 
recommendations’ and the ‘draft conclusions’, and jointly the ‘envisaged acts’): 

the  Convention  by  nine  Parties  (respectively 

(1)  Recommendation  on  the  implementation  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  the 

United Kingdom, contained in document IC-CP(2025)22prov; 

(2)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Andorra,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)23prov; 

(3)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Belgium,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)24revprov; 

(4)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  France,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)25prov; 

(5)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice on the basis of the Istanbul Convention by Italy, contained in document 
IC-CP(2025)26prov]; 

(6)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice on the basis of the Istanbul Convention by the Netherlands, contained in 
document IC-CP(2025)27prov; 

(7)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Portugal,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)28prov; 

(8)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Serbia,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)29prov; and 

(9)  Conclusions  on  the  implementation  of  recommendations  in  respect  of  Poland 
adopted  by  the  Committee  of  the  Parties,  contained  in  document  IC-
CP(2025)30prov. 

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(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

The envisaged acts concern the implementation of provisions of the Convention which 
relate  to  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  such  as  matters  relating  to  the 
protection and support of victims  of violence  against women and domestic violence. 
The  draft  recommendations  and  conclusions  also  concern  the  implementation  of 
provisions of the Convention relating  to  asylum and non-refoulement. Those matters 
are  covered  by  the  Union  acquis,  in  particular  Council  Directive  2003/86/EC22,  
Directives  2012/29/EU23,    (EU)  2024/134624  and  (EU)  2024/138525  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  and  Regulation  (EU)  2024/1348  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council26.  The envisaged acts will have legal effects, as they are 
capable of decisively influencing the content of Union law in that they could affect the 
interpretation  of  relevant  provisions  of  the  Convention  in  the  future.  It  is  therefore 
appropriate  to  establish  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union’s  behalf  in  the 
Committee for matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and 
non-refoulement. 

It should be noted that recommendations relating to certain articles of the Convention 
are  only  partly  covered  by  the  Union’s  competence.  Regarding  those  articles,  this 
decision  should  be  without  prejudice  to  Member  States’  competence,  so  that,  for 
example:  as  regards  recommendations  on  Articles  49  and  50  of  the Convention,  this 
decision  should  be  without  prejudice  to  Member  States’  competence  for  the  internal 
organisation and administration of their  justice systems; as regards recommendations 
on Articles 11 and 20 of the Convention, this decision should be without prejudice to 
Member  States’  competence  for  the  organisation  and  delivery  of  healthcare  services 
and  medical  care;  as  to  recommendations  on  Article 14  of  the  Convention,  this 
decision should be without prejudice to Member States’ competence for the content of 
teaching and the organisation of education systems, and as regards  recommendations 
on Article 31 of the Convention, this decision should be without prejudice to Member 
States’ competence in the area of family law. 

As  regards  the  United  Kingdom,  the  draft  recommendation  on  its  implementation  of 
the Convention includes the need to: harmonise existing legal definitions in line with 
the  Convention  (Article 3  of  the  Convention);  ensure  that  the  provisions  of  the 
Istanbul  Convention  are  implemented  without  discrimination  and  integrate  the 
perspectives and needs of women exposed to intersectional discrimination into policies 
(Article 4  of  the  Convention);  ensure  appropriate  and  sustainable  financial  resources 
for  all  policies  aimed  at  combating  violence  against  women  and  sustainable  funding 
for  relevant  civil  society  organisations  (Article 8  of  the  Convention);  reinforce 

2001/220/JHA 

Council  Directive  2003/86/EC  of  22 September  2003  on  the  right  to  family  reunification  (OJ  L  251, 
3.10.2003, p. 12, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/86/oj). 
Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing 
minimum  standards  on  the  rights,  support  and  protection  of  victims  of  crime,  and  replacing  Council 
p. 57-73, 
Decision 
Framework 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2012/29/OJ). 
Directive  (EU) 2024/1346 EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 laying 
down  standards  for  the  reception  of  applicants  for  international  protection  (OJ  L,  2024/1346,  ELI: 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1346/OJ). 
Directive  (EU)  2024/1385  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14 May  2024  on 
combating  violence  against  women  and  domestic  violence  (OJ  L,  2024/1385,  24.5.2024, 
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1385/oj). 
Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 establishing 
a common procedure for international protection in the Union and repealing Directive 2013/32/EU (OJ 
L, 2024/1348, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1348/oj). 

14.11.2012, 

315, 

(OJ 

L 

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recognition  of  and  support  for  civil  society  organisations  (Article 9  of  the 
Convention); equip  the  national coordinating bodies  with  the necessary  mandate and 
competences and ensure the coordination and implementation of policies and measures 
to  prevent  and  combat  all  forms  of  violence  against  women  and  ensure  their 
independent monitoring and evaluation, supported by relevant data  (Article 10 of the 
Convention);  harmonise  data-collection  systems  and  ensure  the  systematic  collection 
of  disaggregated  data  on  violence  against  women  (Article 11  of  the  Convention); 
ensure  training  for  relevant  professionals  on  how  to  adequately  respond  to  and 
investigate violence against women (Article 15 of the Convention); remove barriers to 
accessing general support services (Article 20 of the Convention); provide adequately 
staffed  and  resourced  specialist  support  services  to  all  victims,  and  increase  the 
number and capacity of shelters for victims of violence against women  and domestic 
violence (Articles 22 23 of the Convention); ensure that violence against a child can be 
regarded  as  an  aggravated  circumstance  regardless  of  the  relationship  of  the 
perpetrator to the child (Article 46 of the Convention); reduce secondary victimisation 
by  ensuring  persons  investigating  and  prosecuting  acts  of  violence  against  women 
have  adequate  expertise  in  those  matters  and  ensure  cases  are  handled  efficiently 
without  delay  (Article 50  of 
introduction  and 
implementation  of  emergency  barring  orders  where  needed  (Article 52  of  the 
Convention);  and  ensure  access  to  adequate  and  safe  accommodation  for  all  women 
and  girls  during  the  asylum  procedure  and  gender-sensitive  standards  in  reception 
facilities  (Article 60  of  the  Convention).  As  the  draft  recommendation  on  those 
matters  is  in  line  with  the  Union’s  policies  and  objectives  in  the  area  of  judicial 
cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  asylum  and  non-refoulement  and  does  not  raise  any 
concerns with respect to Union law, the position of the Union should be to not object 
to its adoption.  

the  Convention);  ensure 

the 

(9) 

As  regards  Andorra,  the  draft  recommendations  on  its  implementation  of  the 
Convention  include  the  need  to:  develop  a  long-term  comprehensive  strategy  to 
prevent and combat all forms of violence against women covered by the Convention; 
ensure  that  women’s  rights  organisations  are  fully  involved  in  policymaking  and  to 
regularly  assess  these  policies  on  the  basis  of  detailed  indicators  (Article 7);  ensure 
that  women’s  rights  NGOs  are  granted  sufficient  subsidies  and  time  to  carry  out 
activities  entrusted  to  them  (Article 8);  continue  to  extend  the  collection  of 
disaggregated  data  on  all  forms  of  violence  covered  by  the  Istanbul  Convention  and 
that full data is available on judicial decisions relating to violence against women and 
domestic violence (Article 11); extend prevention campaigns to all forms of violence 
covered by the  Istanbul  Convention (Article 12 of the Convention); ensure sufficient 
human resources and adequate qualifications of professional working on programmes 
for  perpetrators,  devise  minimum  standards  and  introduce  a  specific  programme  for 
perpetrators  of  sexual  violence  (Article 16);  ensure  that  specialist  support  services 
meet  victims’  needs  and  that  migrant  women,  refugee  women  and  women  asylum 
seekers  have  full  access  to  these  services  (Articles 22  and  60);  set  up  efforts  to 
improve  police  operations  by  taking  into  account  all  the  forms  of  violence  against 
women covered by the  Istanbul Convention  and raise the  awareness  of professionals 
concerned (Articles 49 and 50); take measures to guarantee that all stakeholders carry 
out  risk  assessments  for  all  the  forms  of  violence  covered  by  the  Convention  and 
repeat this regularly (Article 51); ensure that emergency barring orders can be issued 
without  delay  where  there  is  an  immediate  danger  and  establish  a  clear  legal 
framework  that  guarantees  the  proper  management  of  emergency  barring  orders 
(Article 52);  and  ensure  that  victims  of  all  the  forms  of  violence  covered  by  the 

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Convention  can  benefit  from  protection  orders  and  that  breaches  are  punished 
(Article 53). As those draft recommendations are in line with the Union’s policies and 
objectives  in  the  area  of  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  asylum  and  non-
refoulement and do not raise any concerns with respect to Union law,  the position of 
the Union should be to not object to their adoption. 

(10)  As  regards  Belgium,  the  draft  recommendations  on  its  implementation  of  the 
Convention include the need to: ensure greater consistency of policies and measures in 
relation  to  preventing  and  combating  violence  against  women  between  the  different 
levels of authorities in the country (Article 7 of the Convention); ensure that collected 
data are disaggregated and harmonise data  collection (Article 11 of the  Convention); 
ensure to impart knowledge on the notion of freely given  consent in sexual relations 
(Article 14 of the Convention); introduce initial and in-service training for all levels of 
law-enforcement  officials  and  all  relevant  healthcare  professionals,  and  adopt  and 
disseminate quality standards for training courses (Article 15 of the Convention); step 
up  the  support  for  the  recovery  and  economic  independence  of  women  victims  of 
violence  through  relevant  measures  and  implement  standardised  care  paths  in  the 
healthcare sector to ensure the identification of victims and their referral to appropriate 
specialist  support  services  (Article 20  of  the  Convention);  increase  the  number  and 
capacity  of  women-only  shelters  and  ensure  that  fees  are  not  a  barrier  in  accessing 
shelters, and set up a state-wide helpline that serves as a single point of contact for all 
victims  (Article 22  of  the  Convention);  ensure  that  supervised  visitation  facilities 
provide for the safety of children and their mothers and avoid secondary victimisation 
(Article 31 of the Convention); ensure efficiency, that the prosecution prioritise these 
cases and applies a gender-based and victim-centred understanding of violence against 
women, ensure that effective safeguards are in place to prevent the inappropriate use 
of  mediation  and    take  measures  to  avoid  disparities  in  the  judicial  response  to  all 
cases  of  violence  against  women  (Articles 49  and  50  of  the  Convention);  remove 
obstacles  to  the  use  of  emergency  barring,  protection  and  restraining  orders,  ensure 
that such orders are available and accessible to all victims and that they can be applied 
for  independently  of  other  procedures  (Articles 52  and  53  of  the  Convention);  and 
evaluate  the  implementation  of  existing  protection  measures  and  ensure  that  all 
measures  in  place  are  implemented  in  practice  for  victims  of  all  forms  of  violence 
covered  by  the  Convention  (Article 56  of  the  Convention).  As 
those  draft 
recommendations  are  in  line  with  the  Union’s  policies  and  objectives  in  the  area  of 
judicial cooperation in criminal matters and do not raise any concerns with respect to 
Union law, the position of the Union should be to not object to their adoption. 

(11)  As  regards  France,  the  draft  recommendations  on  its  implementation  of  the 
Convention include the need to: develop  a long-term  overarching strategy to  prevent 
and combat  all forms  of violence against women covered by the Convention, ensure 
that adequate resources are allocated to the body coordinating the policies to prevent 
and combat violence against women; ensure that women’s rights associations are fully 
involved in policymaking and regularly assess these policies on the basis of predefined 
indicators  (Articles 3  and  7  of  the  Convention);  continue  efforts  to  ensure  adequate 
funding for policies to  prevent  and combat all forms of violence against  women and 
ensure women’s rights  organisations have sufficient  and stable financial resources to 
carry  out  their  work  (Article 8  of  the  Convention);  ensure  that  data  collected  by  the 
judicial services are disaggregated (Article 11 of the Convention); improve efforts and 
assess  the  impact  of  measures  in  primary  prevention  (Article 12  of  the  Convention); 
ensure all professionals in contact with victims and perpetrators receive training on all 
forms of violence against women and that such training is assessed (Article 15 of the 

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Convention);  adopt  and 
implement  minimum  standards  for  programmes  for 
perpetrators of violence and assess their impact (Article 16 of the Convention); ensure 
that coordination bodies are set up across the country and that the new one-stop-shop 
facilities set up to provide support for women victims involve all the bodies concerned 
(Article 18 of the Convention); ensure that all women victims of violence have access 
to  a forensic  examination and the possibility of preserving evidence  and take further 
measures to prevent and combat violence against women with disabilities (Article 20 
of  the  Convention);  ensure  that  specialist  support  is  available  across  the  country, 
including  for  women  victims  of  violence  and  their  children  residing  in  shelters,  and 
ensure that such services respond to the digital dimension of violence against women 
(Article 22 of the Convention); provide victims of sexual violence with medical care, 
trauma support, forensic examinations and psychological assistance (Article 25 of the 
Convention); ensure the safety of victims and their children when deciding on custody 
and  visitation  rights  by  broadening  the  application  of  measures  to  strengthen 
cooperation  between  civil  and  criminal  courts  and  ensure  that  there  are  enough 
facilities for supervised visits (Article 31 of the Convention); strengthen the measures 
taken  to  encourage  women  victims  of  all  forms  of  violence  covered  by  the  Istanbul 
Convention  to  report  such  violence  and  ensure  appropriate  reception  and  support 
services;  take  measures  to  ensure  more  sexual  violence  cases  reach  the  prosecution 
stage and continue efforts to ensure a proper judicial response to all forms of violence 
against  women  (Articles  49  and  50  of  the  Convention);  ensure  that  risk  assessments 
are conducted systematically in all cases of violence against women (Article 51 of the 
Convention);  make  increased  use  of  protection  orders  and  ensure  breaches  are 
punished  (Article 53  of  the  Convention);  and  limit  the  secondary  victimisation  to 
which  women  victims  of  violence  can  be  exposed  during  proceedings  (Article  56  of 
the Convention). As those draft recommendations are in line with the Union’s policies 
and objectives in the area of judicial cooperation in criminal matters and do not raise 
any  concerns  with  respect  to  Union  law,  the  position  of  the  Union  should  be  to  not 
object to their adoption.  

(12)  As regards Italy, the draft recommendations on its implementation of the Convention 
include  the  need  to:  introduce  definitions  of  domestic  violence  and  violence  against 
women  that  are  in  line  with  Article 3  in  order  to  ensure  a  common  use  of  these 
concepts (Article 3 of the Convention), ensure that the national action plan on violence 
against women addresses all forms of violence against women and is supported by a 
timeline,  financial  resources  and  indicators  to  measure  progress;  ensure  effective 
consultation with civil society and better coordinate the implementation of the relevant 
policies (Article 7 of the Convention); ensure sustainable and long-term funding for all 
the policies and measures to prevent and combat violence against women, and provide 
shelters with sufficient and sustainable funding (Article 8 of the Convention); ensure 
the  collection  and  disaggregation  of  data  by  all  relevant  stakeholders  and  harmonise 
the collection of data (Article 11 of the Convention); ensure the teaching of the notion 
of  freely  given  consent  in  sexual  relations  (Article 14  of  the  Convention);  introduce 
initial  and  in-service  training  for  all  relevant  professionals  on  all  forms  of  violence 
against  women  (Article 15  of  the  Convention);  increase  the  number  and  capacity  of 
shelters  in  an  adequate  geographical  distribution  and  ensure  accommodation  for  all 
victims,  ensure  that  victims  of  female  genital  mutilation  have  access  to  helpline 
support,  and  ensure  psychological  counselling  to  children  exposed  to  domestic 
violence  or  other  forms  of  violence  against  women  is  not  subject  to  the  approval  of 
both parents (Articles 22, 23, 24 and 26 of the Convention); provide safe premises for 
supervised  visits  with  the  support  of  professionals  trained  in  domestic  violence 

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(Article 31);  ensure  that  restorative  justice  services  in  cases  of  offences  under  the 
scope of the Istanbul Convention are used with caution, and are based on the victim’s 
free and informed consent (Article 48 of the Convention); ensure timely and adequate 
responses from  law  enforcement agencies to  reports relating  to  all forms  of violence 
against women, and effective investigation and prosecution in such cases (Articles 49 
and 50 of the Convention); ensure systematic risk assessments for victims of all forms 
of violence against women that  are  grounded in  manuals  and  guidelines  and address 
the need to include children and their individual risks in the assessment (Article 51 of 
the Convention); and ensure that emergency barring orders are issued in practice when 
needed, monitor orders and react in case of breach and include children in the scope of 
the  emergency  barring  and  restraining  orders  (Article 52  and  53  of  the  Convention). 
As those draft recommendations are in line with the Union’s policies and objectives in 
the area of judicial cooperation in criminal matters and do not raise any concerns with 
respect  to  Union  law,  the    position  of  the  Union  should  be  to  not  object  to  their 
adoption. 

(13)  As  regards  Netherlands,  the  draft  recommendations  on  its  implementation  of  the 
Convention include the need to: ensure that definitions in policy documents reflect the 
fact  that  domestic  violence  affects  women  disproportionately  and  to  align  the 
definitions  in  legislation  with  Article 3b  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  (Article 3  of  the 
Convention);  ensure  that  policies  and  measures  taken  in  relation  to  preventing  and 
combating  violence  against  women  and  domestic  violence  are  coordinated  and  that 
they cover all forms of violence against women covered by the Istanbul Convention, 
assign  the  role  of  coordinating  body  to  fully  institutionalised  entities  with  clear 
mandates,  competences  and  necessary  resources  and  ensure  the  involvement  of  non-
governmental  organisations  (NGOs)  in  policymaking  (Article 7  of  the  Convention); 
introduce appropriate and sustainable funding for policies and  measures on all forms 
of  violence  against  women  and  domestic  violence  and  ensure  appropriate  and 
sustainable  funding  for  women’s  rights  organisations  (Article 8  of  the  Convention); 
adapt data categories for use by the justice sector and law  enforcement agencies and 
ensure  disaggregation  (Article 11  of  the  Convention);  step  up  the  training  of  all 
professionals dealing with victims of violence against women on all forms of violence 
covered by the Istanbul Convention while drawing on the expertise of women’s rights 
organisations (Article 15 of the Convention); step up efforts to increase the number of 
and  capacity  of  shelters  and  their  ability  to  cater  to  the  needs  of  women  subject  to 
intersectional  discrimination  (Article 22  of 
the  Convention);  ensure  effective 
investigation  and  prosecution  in  cases  of  violence  against  women  covered  by  the 
Convention  and  take  measures  to  encourage  women  victims  to  report,  including 
women at risk of intersectional discrimination (Articles 49 and 50 of the Convention); 
take  measures  to  ensure  gender-sensitive  risk  assessments  in  cases  of  domestic 
violence and other forms of violence against women as part of a multiagency response 
(Article 51 of the Convention); and review and expand the system of restraining and 
emergency  barring  orders  in  line  with  the  Convention,  to  ensure  that  relevant 
authorities can issue such orders immediately in cases of imminent danger (Article 52 
of  the  Convention).  As  those  draft  recommendations  are  in  line  with  the  Union’s 
policies and objectives  in  the area of judicial cooperation in  criminal  matters and do 
not raise any concerns with respect to Union law, the position of the Union should be 
to not object to their adoption. 

(14)  As  regards  Portugal,  the  draft  recommendations  on  its  implementation  of  the 
Convention  include  the  need  to:  ensure  appropriate  financial  resources  for  the 
implementation  of  national  strategies  and  action  plans,  and  sustainable  funding  for 

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women’s  rights  organisations  (Article 8  of  the  Convention);  ensure  initial  and  in-
service training for members of the judiciary on all forms of violence against women 
covered  by  the  Convention  and  ensure  that  all  relevant  professionals  receive 
continuous training on violence against women (Article 15 of the Convention); ensure 
that  programmes  for  perpetrators  of  domestic  and  sexual  violence  are  sufficiently 
available, adopt minimum standards and are evaluated (Article 16 of the Convention); 
develop  a  multiagency  coordinated  response  to  all  forms  of  violence  against  women 
(Article 18 of the Convention); set up a helpline for women victims of different forms 
of violence, increase the number and capacity of women-only  shelters for victims of 
all forms  of violence against women and  ensure the availability of specialist  support 
services and remove the requirement for women victims to report a crime in order to 
gain access to a shelter (Article 22 of the Convention); prioritise the safety and respect 
of the rights of women victims and their children in the implementation of supervised 
visitation (Article 31 of the Convention); ensure a swift and gender-sensitive response 
by law enforcement officers in all cases of violence against women, including in their 
digital dimension; ensure cases are investigated effectively  (Articles 49 and 50 of the 
Convention);  and  align  the  system  of  emergency  barring  orders  and  the  system  of 
protection  and  restraining  orders  with  the  Convention;  ensure  that  the  scope  and 
duration  of  protection  orders  are  determined  on  a  case-by-case  basis,  that  the 
monitoring of protection orders is strengthened and breaches of such orders subject to 
dissuasive  sanctions 
those 
recommendations  are  in  line  with  the  Union’s  policies  and  objectives  in  the  area  of 
judicial cooperation in criminal matters and do not raise any concerns with respect to 
Union law, the position of the Union should be to not object to their adoption.  

(Articles  52  and  53  of 

the  Convention).  As 

(15)  As regards Serbia, the draft recommendations on its implementation of the Convention 
include the need to: harmonise the definition of domestic violence across laws in line 
with  the  Convention,  ensure  the  effective  implementation  and  monitoring  of  the 
national  strategy,  and  allocate  sufficient  resources  to  the  competent  body  or  bodies 
responsible  for  the  coordination,  implementation,  monitoring  and  independent 
evaluation  of  policies  and  measures  addressing  all  forms  of  violence  against  women 
(Articles 3  and  7);  ensure  appropriate  and  sustainable  financial  resources  for 
legislation, policies and measures to prevent and combat violence against women and 
domestic  violence  and  guarantee  sustainable  funding  for  women’s  organisations 
providing  specialist  support  for  victims  (Article 8  of  the  Convention);  ensure  that 
collected  data  are  disaggregated  by  relevant  factors  and  harmonise  data  collection 
(Article 11 of the Convention); ensure regular preventive measures to eradicate gender 
stereotypes,  promote  awareness-raising  campaigns  that  address  all  forms  of  violence 
against  women,  including  the  digital  dimension,  targeting  society  as  a  whole 
(Article 12 of the Convention); ensure systematic initial and in-service training for all 
relevant  professionals  (Article 15  of  the  Convention);  expand  and  provide  adequate 
resources for domestic violence perpetrator programmes and adopt common standards 
(Article 16 of the Convention); improve victims’ access to financial support, housing 
and employment and ensure free forensic examinations (Article 20 of the Convention); 
increase  the  number  of  shelter  places  to  ensure  safe  accommodation  for  all  victims, 
including  those  facing  intersectional  discrimination  (Article 22  of  the  Convention); 
ensure  rape  crisis  or  sexual  violence  referral  centres  across  the  country,  available 
independent  of  the  victim’s  willingness  to  report  the  crime  (Article 25  of  the 
Convention); encourage the reporting of all forms of violence against women, raising 
to  ensure  gender-sensitive  responses, 
law  enforcement  authorities’  awareness 
strengthen evidence collection and take measures to ensure the efficient case handling 

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including 

(Articles  49  and  50  of  the  Convention);  ensure  training  and  guidance  for  police 
officers  on  risk  assessments  and  involve  all  relevant  institutions  in  the  assessment 
(Article 51  of  the  Convention);  improve  the  monitoring  and  compliance  with 
emergency  and  extended  protective  measures, 
through  electronic 
monitoring;  ensure  consistency  in  the  process  and  systematically  include  children  in 
both  emergency  protective  measures  and  long-term  protection  orders  (Article 52  and 
52 of the Convention); and ensure the effective implementation of all victim protection 
measures  throughout  investigations  and  judicial  proceedings  and  safeguard  victims 
from  intimidation,  reprisals  and  re-victimisation  by  upholding  their  right  to  be 
properly  informed  when  orders  are  issued  or  perpetrators  released  or  escape 
(Article 56  of  the  Convention).  As  those  draft  recommendations  are  in  line  with  the 
Union’s policies and objectives in the area of judicial cooperation in criminal matters 
and do not  raise any  concerns  with  respect  to  Union  law, the   position of the Union 
should be to not object to their adoption.  

(16)  As  regards  Poland,  the  draft  conclusions  on  its  implementation  of  the  Convention 
include the need to: ensure the provisions of the Convention are implemented without 
discrimination  and  to  address  the  multiple  forms  of  discrimination  certain  groups  of 
victims  face  when  accessing  protection  and  support  (Article 4  of  the  Convention); 
develop nationwide, comprehensive and coordinated policies to prevent and combat all 
the  Convention,  strengthen 
forms  of  violence  against  women  covered  by 
interinstitutional  cooperation  mechanisms  between  authorities  to  ensure  victims’ 
access  to  support  and  protection  mechanisms  (Article 7  of  the  Convention);  increase 
financial  resources  to  prevent  and  combat  all  forms  of  violence  against  women, 
provide  funding  for  NGOs,  and  ensure  their  participation  in  the  implementation  and 
monitoring of all relevant policies (Article 8 of the Convention); allocate the necessary 
human  and  financial  resources  to  the  coordinating  body  for  the  Istanbul  Convention 
and ensure the involvement of women’s rights organisations (Articles 9 and Article 10 
of  the  Convention);  ensure  the  collection  of  disaggregated  data  and  harmonise  data 
collection between relevant services (Article 11 of the Convention); ensure emergency 
barring, restraining and protection orders can be issued for all forms of violence under 
the  Convention  and  ensure  sanctions  in  case  of  breach  (Articles  52  and  53  of  the 
Convention);  ensure  swift  access  to  asylum  procedures  for  women  asylum  seekers, 
ensure  gender-sensitive  procedures  and  uphold  the  principle  of  non-refoulement 
(Articles 60 and 61 of the Convention). As those draft conclusions are in line with the 
Union’s policies and objectives in the area of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, 
asylum and non-refoulement and do not raise any concerns with respect to Union law, 
the position of the Union should be to not object to their adoption.  

(17) 

(18) 

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: 

The  position  to  be  taken  on  behalf  of  the  Union  within  the  Committee  of  the  Parties 
established  under  Article 67  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  preventing  and 

Article 1 

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combating violence against women and domestic violence, at its 19th meeting, shall be to not 
object to the adoption of the following acts: 

(1)  Recommendation  on  the  implementation  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  the 

United Kingdom, contained in document IC-CP(2025)22prov; 

(2)  Recommendations  on  buildingtrust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Andorra,  contained  in 
document  IC-CP(2025)23prov; 

(3)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Belgium,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)24revprov; 

(4)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  France,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)25prov; 

(5)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice on the basis of the Istanbul Convention by Italy, contained in document 
IC-CP(2025)26prov]; 

(6)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice on the basis of the Istanbul Convention by the Netherlands, contained in 
document IC-CP(2025)27prov; 

(7)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Portugal,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)28prov; 

(8)  Recommendations  on  building  trust  by  delivering  support,  protection  and 
justice  on  the  basis  of  the  Istanbul  Convention  by  Serbia,  contained  in 
document IC-CP(2025)29prov; and 

(9)  Conclusions  on  the  implementation  of  recommendations  in  respect  of  Poland 
adopted  by  the  Committee  of  the  Parties,  contained  in  document  IC-
CP(2025)30prov. 

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption. 

Article 2 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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