Considerations on COM(2025)151 - 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 institutions and public administration of the Union - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2025)151 - EU position within the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the extension of the term for accession of Tunisia ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2025)151 |
| date | March 31, 2025 |
(2) The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (‘the Committee of Ministers’) is the Council of Europe’s decision-making body. It is composed of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the 46 Member States of the Council of Europe and their Permanent Representatives in Strasburg acting as Deputies. The role and functions of the Committee of Ministers are described in Chapter IV of the Statute of the Council of Europe12. Pursuant to Article 14 of the Statute, each member of the Council of Europe shall be entitled to one representative on the Committee of Ministers, and each representative shall be entitled to one vote. All EU Member States are members of the Council of Europe and thus represented in the Committee of Ministers.
(3) Pursuant to Article 76(1) of the Istanbul Convention, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may, after consultation of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention and obtaining their unanimous consent, invite a non-Council of Europe Member State to accede to the Istanbul Convention. Such decision requires the majority provided for in Article 20.d of the Statute (two-thirds majority of the Committee of Ministers) and the unanimous vote of the representatives of the Parties to the Convention entitled to sit on the Committee of Ministers.
(4) On 22 April 2020, the Committee of Ministers decided to invite Tunisia to accede to the Istanbul Convention. In conformity with the decision, the invitation was valid five years as from its adoption, i.e., until 23 April 2025.
(5) By a letter dated 20 February 2025, Tunisia requested an extension of the term for accession of Tunisia to the Istanbul Convention until 23 April 2027, to be able to complete its internal processes.
(6) The Committee of Ministers, at its meeting on 23 April 2025, is expected to adopt a decision on the extension of the term for accession of Tunisia to the Istanbul Convention until 23 April 2027.
(7) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf within the Committee of Ministers, as the extension of the term for accession of Tunisia to the Istanbul Convention may have legal effects on the Union. The extension renews the invitation to Tunisia to accede and therefore may imply the establishment of treaty relations between the Union and Tunisia in the framework of the Istanbul Convention. The decision may also influence the way in which decisions are made within the Committee of the Parties of the Istanbul Convention.
(8) The accession of Tunisia would be beneficial for the Union since it would extend the Convention’s ambitious standards to that country. The Union’s position should therefore be to grant Tunisia two more years to complete its internal procedures.
(9) As the Union is not a member of the Council of Europe but all Member States are, the Union's position is to be expressed by the Member States of the Union, acting jointly,