EU accession to the Istanbul Convention

On 25 January 2023, the Committees on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) jointly adopted, by a substantial majority, their interim report on EU accession to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). The report calls for swift European Union (EU) ratification, noting that the 2021 opinion of the European Court of Justice enables EU accession even in the absence of a common accord among Member States. A lack of consensus in the Council has proved an obstacle to ratification to date, however the Swedish Council Presidency has made it one of its priorities.