At the General Affairs Council meeting on February 21, the Council decided by a qualified majority to request the consent of the European Parliament to adopt the decisions on the conclusion by the EU of the convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). Bulgaria has reaffirmed its position against the EU's accession to the Istanbul Convention without prior common agreement, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, Bulgaria remains strongly committed to combating domestic violence and violence against women. 

 The Foreign Ministry reminds that in 2018, Bulgaria’s Constitutional Court adopted a decision stating that the “Istanbul Convention” advances legal concepts related to the notion of gender which are incompatible with fundamental principles of the country’s Constitution. The Foreign Ministry notes that the decision on the European Union’s accession to the convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence will be taken by the Council by a qualified majority and that the vote is most likely to take place in June this year.