Council Decision (EU) 2025/2597 of 8 December 2025 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within 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 institutions and public administration of the Union
Date: 2025-12-08
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU institution, European convention, gender equality, help for victims, joint body (EU), public administration, recommendation, sexual violence, violence, women's rights








L_202502597EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2025/2597


17.12.2025







            COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2025/2597
         
of 8 December 2025
         
on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within 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 institutions and public administration of the Union


THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 336, in conjunction with Article 218(9), thereof,


Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:







(1)


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 (1) with regard to institutions and public administration of the Union, and by means of Council Decision (EU) 2023/1076 (2) 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. The Convention entered into force for the Union on 1 October 2023.












(2)


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.












(3)


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












(4)


Pursuant to Article 68(3) of the Convention, the evaluation procedures following GREVIO’s initial baseline evaluation procedure are to be divided into rounds (the ‘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 in light of GREVIO’s reports adopted as part of the first thematic evaluation round contained in document IC-CP(2024)10 rev.












(5)


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 implementation of the Convention by nine of the Parties (respectively, the ‘draft recommendations’ and the ‘draft conclusions’, and jointly the ‘envisaged acts’):






—


Recommendation on the implementation of the Istanbul Convention by the United Kingdom, contained in document IC-CP(2025)22prov;










—


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;










—


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;










—


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;










—


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;










—


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;










—


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;










—


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










—


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
















(6)


The Union has exclusive competence to accept obligations set out in the Convention with regard to its own institutions and public administration, within the scope of Article 336 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In paragraph 305 of its Opinion 1/19 of 6 October 2021 (3), the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ‘Court of Justice’) held that a significant part of the obligations set out in the Convention relating to the adoption of preventive and protection measures are, in essence, binding on the Union as regards the staff in its administration and as regards members of the public visiting the premises and buildings of its institutions, agencies and bodies. Moreover, in paragraph 307 of the same Opinion, the Court of Justice held that the Union should not confine itself to establishing minimum requirements or supporting measures, but should itself ensure that those obligations are fully satisfied. At the same time, the extent of the Union’s obligations should be interpreted bearing in mind its specific nature and powers. In particular, since the Union’s public administration is not endowed with law enforcement powers, recommendations relating to matters of law enforcement, such as the issue of emergency barring orders, should be interpreted as requiring the Union to ensure the safety of victims within the limits of its powers, for example by refusing alleged perpetrators access to the premises of its institutions.












(7)


The envisaged acts concern the implementation of provisions of the Convention which apply to the Union with regard to its own institutions and public administration. It is therefore appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Committee with regard to matters related to institutions and public administration of the Union, as the envisaged acts 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.












(8)


As regards the United Kingdom, the draft recommendation includes the need to: 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); equip the national coordinating bodies with the necessary mandate, competence and resources and ensure the coordination and implementation of policies and measures to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women and 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 violence against women (Article 15 of the Convention); remove barriers to accessing general support services (Article 20 of the Convention); ensure access to specialist support services and shelters for all victims of violence against women and domestic violence (Articles 22 and 23 of the Convention); reduce secondary victimisation by ensuring that cases are handled efficiently without delay (Article 50 of the Convention); and ensure the use of emergency barring orders (Article 52 of the Convention). As that draft recommendation is in line with the Union’s policies and objectives and does not raise any concerns with respect to Union law, the position of the Union should be to not object to its adoption.












(9)


As regards Andorra, the draft recommendations include the need to: develop a long-term comprehensive strategy to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women covered by the Convention; to ensure that women’s rights organisations are fully involved in policymaking and to regularly assess those policies on the basis of detailed indicators (Article 7 of the Convention); improve the clarity of budgets for activities to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence, continue efforts to increase those budgets where necessary and to ensure that women’s rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are granted sufficient subsidies and time to carry out activities entrusted to them (Article 8 of the Convention); continue to extend the collection of disaggregated data on all forms of violence covered by the Convention (Article 11 of the Convention); extend prevention campaigns to all forms of violence covered by the Convention and regularly assess their impact (Article 12 of the Convention); ensure sufficient human resources and adequate qualifications of professionals working on programme for perpetrators, devise minimum standards and introduce a specific programme for perpetrators of sexual violence (Article 16 of the Convention); ensure that specialist support services meet victims’ needs (Article 22 of the Convention); take measures to guarantee that all stakeholders carry out a risk assessment for all the forms of violence covered by the Convention and repeat that regularly (Article 51 of the Convention); 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 of the Convention); and ensure that victims of all the forms of violence covered by the Convention can benefit from protection orders and that breaches are punished (Article 53 of the Convention). As those draft recommendations are in line with the Union’s policies and objectives 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 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 the practical implementation of the requirement to impart knowledge on the principles listed in Article 14 of the Convention at all levels of education (Article 14 of the Convention); introduce initial and in-service training for all relevant professionals, and adopt and disseminate quality standards for training courses (Article 15 of the Convention); step up 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); ensure access to shelters and set up a helpline that serves as a single point of contact (Article 22 of the Convention); ensure efficient handling of cases, 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 ensure proper and sufficient sanctions (Articles 49 and 50 of the Convention); ensure that emergency barring, protection and restraining orders are available and accessible to all victims (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 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 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 those policies on the basis of predefined indicators (Article 7 of the Convention); continue efforts to ensure adequate funding for policies to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women, improve the clarity of budgets allocated to those policies and ensure that women’s rights organisations have sufficient and stable financial resources to carry out their work (Article 8 of the Convention); ensure disaggregation of data and set up data collection on the number of women and girls who seek help from healthcare services (Article 11 of the Convention); improve efforts and assess the impact of measures in the area of primary prevention (Article 12 of the Convention); ensure that pupils have access to education on the matters outlined in Article 14 of the Convention (Article 14 of the Convention); ensure that all professionals in contact with victims and perpetrators receive training regarding all forms of violence against women and that such training is assessed (Article 15 of the 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 throughout 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 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); strengthen the measures taken to encourage women victims of all forms of violence covered by the Convention to report such violence and ensure appropriate reception and support services, 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 that breaches are punished (Article 53 of the Convention); and limit the secondary victimisation to which women victims of violence can be exposed to during proceedings (Article 56 of the Convention). As those draft recommendations are in line with the Union’s policies and objectives 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 include the need to: ensure that Italy’s 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 aimed at preventing and combating violence against women, while ensuring separate budget and funding lines (Article 8 of the Convention); ensure the collection and disaggregation of data by all relevant stakeholders (Article 11 of the Convention); review teaching curricula and materials with a view to removing negative stereotypes regarding women and girls (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); ensure the availability of shelters and helpline support for all victims (Article 22 of the Convention); ensure timely, adequate and effective responses to reports relating to all forms of violence against women (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 (Article 51 of the Convention); and ensure that emergency barring orders are issued when needed and that breaches are punished (Articles 52 and 53 of the Convention). As those draft recommendations are in line with the Union’s policies and objectives 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 the Netherlands, the draft recommendations include the need to: 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 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 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, introduce separate budget lines and funding lines that are based on the principle of gender budgeting, and ensure appropriate and sustainable funding for women’s rights organisations (Article 8 of the Convention); adapt data categories for the collection of disaggregated data (Article 11 of the Convention); take measures to impart knowledge on all the principles listed in Article 14 of the Convention (Article 14 of the Convention); step up training for all professionals while also drawing on the expertise of women’s rights organisations (Article 15 of the Convention); ensure access to shelters for all victims, including victims of intersectional discrimination (Article 22 of the Convention); take measures to encourage women victims to report, including women at risk of intersectional discrimination (Articles 49 and 50 of the Convention); ensure that risk assessments are carried out in cases of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women as part of a multiagency response (Article 51 of the Convention); and ensure that relevant authorities can immediately issue restraining and emergency barring orders in cases of imminent danger (Article 52 of the Convention). As those draft recommendations are in line with the Union’s policies and objectives 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 include the need to: ensure appropriate financial resources for the implementation of national strategies and action plans, and sustainable funding for women’s rights organisations (Article 8 of the Convention); ensure training regarding violence against women for all professionals who come into contact with victims (Article 15 of the Convention); ensure that programmes for perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence are sufficiently available, adopt minimum standards and are continually evaluated (Article 16 of the Convention); develop a fully operational 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, ensure shelters for victims of all forms of violence against women and ensure the availability of specialist support services (Article 22 of the Convention); ensure that cases are investigated effectively, enhancing case-building efforts by moving away from over-reliance on victim statements, and ensure that sanctions are commensurate with the gravity of the crime (Articles 49 and 50 of the Convention); and ensure that emergency barring orders are issued swiftly and with immediate effect, and strengthen the monitoring of protection orders (Articles 52 and 53 of the Convention). As those draft recommendations are in line with the Union’s policies and objectives and do not raise any concerns with respect to Union law, the position of the Union should be to not object to their adoption.












(15)


As regards Serbia, the draft recommendations include the need to: ensure the effective implementation and monitoring of its relevant 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 (Article 7 of the Convention); ensure appropriate and sustainable financial resources for legislation, policies and measures aimed at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, including for the institutions and entities responsible for their implementation, as well as the use of gender-responsive budgeting to enable effective monitoring of public expenditures and guarantee sustainable funding for women’s organisations that provide specialist support for victims through long-term grants awarded via transparent procurement procedures (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 aimed at eradicating gender stereotypes and addressing gender inequality as a root cause of violence against women, and promote awareness-raising campaigns that address all forms of violence against women, including their 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 uniform 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); ensure shelter places for all victims, including those facing intersectional discrimination (Article 22 of the Convention); ensure the accessibility of rape crisis or sexual violence referral centres, accessible regardless of the victim’s willingness to report the crime (Article 25 of the Convention); encourage the reporting of all forms of violence against women, strengthen evidence collection and take measures to ensure efficient case-handling (Articles 49 and 50 of the Convention); involve all relevant institutions in the risk assessment (Article 51 of the Convention); improve monitoring and compliance with emergency and extended protective measures, and ensure procedural consistency (Articles 52 and 53 of the Convention); and ensure the effective implementation of all victim protection measures and safeguard victims’ right to be properly informed (Article 56 of the Convention). As those draft recommendations are in line with the Union’s policies and objectives 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 include the need to: develop comprehensive and coordinated policies to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women covered by the Convention, strengthen interinstitutional cooperation mechanisms between authorities to ensure victims’ access to support and protection mechanisms, and conduct independent comparative analyses of existing measures and programmes (Article 7 of the Convention); increase financial resources for preventing and combating all forms of violence against women, ensure the introduction of dedicated budget lines to measures to prevent and combat violence against women, provide equitable and stable funding for NGOs, and ensure their participation in 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 Convention (Article 10 of the Convention); and ensure the collection of disaggregated data and harmonise data collection between relevant services (Article 11 of the Convention). As those draft conclusions are in line with the Union’s policies and objectives and do not raise any concerns with respect to Union law, the position of the Union should be to not object to their adoption,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
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 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 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.






Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.




Done at Brussels, 8 December 2025.


For the Council


The President

R. STOKLUND
            





(1)  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).

(2)  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).

(3)  Opinion 1/19 of the Court of Justice of 6 October 2021
            , Istanbul Convention, ECLI:EU:C:2021:832.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2025/2597/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)