The EU Accession to the Istanbul Convention: The Argument From the ‘common Accord’ Practice

Abstract The main purpose of this article is to analyse the Council’s practice of ‘common accord’ as the argument behind the tardiness of accession to the Istanbul Convention by the European Union. It presents how political and legal factors condition the accession of the Istanbul Convention by the European Union. In light of the Court of Justice Opinion 1/19, there are no legal obstacles to the accession; therefore, the tardiness of ratification arose from the political context, which consists of the EU’s constitutional crisis, populists in power, and liberal decision-makers succumbing to them. Based on the sociological assumption, the case study confirms the existence of the practice of ‘common accord’ as an effect of the conditions mentioned above. Nevertheless, the social need to access the Istanbul Convention is urgent.