Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2025)152 - EU position within the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the extension of the term for accession of Tunisia to 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 - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2025)152 - EU position within the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the extension of the term for accession of Tunisia ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2025)152 |
| date | 31-03-2025 |
1. Subject matter of the proposal
This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 23 April 2025, in connection with the envisaged adoption of a decision granting Tunisia an extension of the term for accession to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (‘Istanbul Convention’ or ‘Convention), until 23 April 2027
1.1. The Istanbul Convention
The Istanbul Convention establishes 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 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 matters related to institutions and public administration of the Union1 and matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement2. As regards the latter, Ireland and Denmark are not bound by the exercise of the Union’s competence3. There are currently 39 Parties to the Convention, including the EU and 22 EU Member States4.
1.2. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
The Committee of Ministers (CM) is the Council of Europe’s (CoE) decision-making body. The CM is composed of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the 46 Member States of the CoE with their Permanent Representatives in Strasburg acting as Deputies. The role and functions of the CM are described in Chapter IV of the Statute of the CoE (‘the Statute’)5. Pursuant to Article 14 of the Statute, each member of the CoE shall be entitled to one representative on the CM, and each representative shall be entitled to one vote. All EU Member States are members of the CoE and thus represented in the CM. The CM meets at ministerial level once a year and at Deputies' level weekly.
1.3. The envisaged decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
Article 75(1) of the Istanbul Convention provides that the Convention is open for accession by CoE Member States, the non-CoE Member States which participated in its elaboration and the EU. Article 76(1) further provides that the Convention is open for accession also by non-member States which did not participate in its elaboration, provided that they have been formally invited to accede by the CM. In this regard the CM may, after consultation of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention and obtaining their unanimous consent, invite any non-CoE Member State to accede to the Convention by a decision taken by the majority provided for in Article 20.d of the Statute (two-thirds majority of the CM) and by unanimous vote of the representatives of the Parties to the Convention entitled to sit on the Committee of Ministers6.
On 22 April 2020, the CM decided to invite Tunisia to accede to the Istanbul Convention. In accordance with the decision, this invitation is valid for five years from its adoption, i.e., until 23 April 2025.
By a letter dated 20 February 2025, Tunisia requested an extension of its term for accession to the Convention until 23 April 2027, to be able to complete its internal processes. Member States of the CoE and Parties to the Istanbul Convention were informed by a letter dated 3 March 2025 of the request and that it requires a new decision by the CM. The CM’s Rapporteur Group on Legal Co-operation (GR-J) is expected to examine the request at its meeting on 17 April 2025, whereafter the CM is expected to adopt a decision to extend the term for accession of Tunisia to the Istanbul Convention until 23 April 2027, as requested (‘the envisaged decision’).
2. Position to be taken on the Union's behalf
It is proposed that the position to be taken on behalf of the EU at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers on 23 April 2025, shall be to support the extension of the term for accession of Tunisia to the Istanbul Convention until 23 April 2027 to give Tunisia the necessary time to complete its internal processes. The accession of Tunisia would be beneficial for the Union since it would extend the Convention’s ambitious standards to combat violence against women and domestic violence to that country.
3. Legal basis
3.1. Procedural legal basis
3.1.1. 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.’
Article 218(9) TFEU applies regardless of whether the Union is a member of the body or a party to the agreement7.
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. The notion of ‘acts having legal effects’ further includes acts of an organisational nature that influence the way in which decisions are made within the body, for instance if a body with decision-making powers accepts a new country as a member.
3.1.2. Application to the present case
The CM is a body set up by an agreement, namely the Statute. The decision to extend the term for accession of Tunisia to the Istanbul Convention, which the CM is called upon to adopt, constitutes an act having legal effects. The extension of the deadline to accede to the Convention amounts to a “renewal” of the invitation until 23 April 2027, which would otherwise expire on 23 April 2025. If the deadline is extended, and if Tunisia accedes to the Convention within the timeframe, treaty relations will be established between the EU and Tunisia in the framework of the Istanbul Convention. The decision taken by the CM may also have legal effects on the Union because Tunisia’s accession would influence the way in which decisions are made within the Committee of the Parties of the Istanbul Convention. The envisaged act does not supplement or amend the institutional framework of the Agreement. Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU.
3.2. Substantive legal basis
3.2.1. 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.
3.2.2. 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 Union8 and with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement9. 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 of the TFEU. Consequently, also the decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the CM is to be split into two parallel decisions, as the Treaty relationship with Tunisia would be established for all aspects of the Convention. The legal basis for the present decision concerns matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement. Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision comprises the following provisions: Article 78(2), Article 82(2) and Article 84 TFEU.
3.3. 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.