Czechia plans to abstain from EU vote on Istanbul Convention

Czechia will refrain from the Council of the EU vote on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, the Czech government decided on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Council Decision ratifying the Convention was approved by COREPER. The final Council vote should be scheduled for 1 June.

According to Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blažek (ODS, ECR), Sweden wanted to open the topic during its six-month rotating EU presidency, which is why the ratification of the Istanbul Convention at the EU level has now been rushed.

The EU signed the convention in 2017 but never ratified it due to the refusal of several member states.

While the majority of countries have already ratified the convention nationally and have no objections against the ratification at the EU level, six countries – Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia – still hesitate or oppose the document, both at the national and EU level.

However, the EU Court confirmed in 2021 that the EU could ratify the Convention without the agreement of all member states.

The Istanbul Convention aims to condemn various forms of violence, including domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, forced marriages and genital mutilation. It perceives violence against women as a violation of human rights and an act of discrimination.

The Istanbul Convention has sparked controversy in Czechia, even among representatives of the ruling coalition.

Still, the government plans to decide on the national ratification of the document within a week, after which it can pass the document to the lower chamber of the Czech parliament for official ratification.

However, as the national debate on ratification is still ongoing, the Czech government decided not to vote at the EU level.

“We have two camps. One is strongly opposed – if it is adopted, it will mean that it will destroy this world. And the other camp says if we accept it, it means an immediate end to all violence against women. Both are extreme views and not entirely correct,” Blažek remarked.

Currently, the Czech five-party coalition government is still divided on ratification.

(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)