Wire flash
EU Urged to Invoke Blocking Statute to Shield ICC from US Sanctions
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Source reporting is collected, normalized, translated or condensed automatically when needed.
- Automatically published source-backed update
MEPs and several EU governments are pressing the European Commission to activate a 1996 blocking statute that would prohibit EU companies and banks from complying with US sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Trump administration escalated its campaign against the ICC by withdrawing from the Rome Statute and, on August 18, imposing asset freezes and financial sanctions on ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled the ICC a 'corrupt and fatally-politicised supranational court.' EU leaders, including diplomatic chief Kaja Kallas, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Council President António Costa, voiced support for the ICC. However, ICC officials and some EU lawmakers want stronger action, with ICC President Akane having urged the EU in March 2025 to extend the blocking statute to cover the court. The move reflects broader tensions between the US and multilateral institutions.
Source report
The European Union has been urged to retaliate against the Trump administration's sanctions campaign targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC) by invoking a little-known "blocking statute" that would prohibit companies and banks from complying with the sanctions.
Background
The Trump administration has intensified its efforts to undermine the Hague-based court by withdrawing from the Rome Statute that established it and urging allies to follow suit.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the imposition of sanctions on 18 August, including asset freezes and financial penalties, targeting:
- Judge Tomoko Akane, President of the ICC
- Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal, a senior trial lawyer in the court's prosecution office
Rubio described the ICC as a "corrupt and fatally-politicised supranational court."
Although US officials have rarely been subject to ICC indictments, Rubio's action is part of a broader Trump administration push to weaken the United Nations and other multilateral organisations.
EU Response
On Wednesday (19 August), the EU's diplomatic chief, Kaja Kallas, expressed the EU's "unwavering support" for the ICC, calling it a "cornerstone of the international criminal justice system and the global fight against impunity."
In coordinated statements on X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa also voiced their backing for the court.
"The ICC helps deliver justice to the victims of some of the world's most horrific crimes," they stated, adding that "to carry out this essential work, its judges and officials must be able to act independently and without external pressure."
Calls for Stronger Action
However, ICC officials and some EU representatives want the bloc to take more decisive action in response to the US sanctions. In March 2025, Judge Akane told a European Parliament hearing that the EU should bring the ICC within the scope of its blocking statute — a 1996 regulation that prohibits European operators from complying with foreign extraterritorial sanctions.
Source
EUobserverWestern
Part of this Story
US sanctions ICC president and prosecutor over Israel war crimes probe