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EU Urged to Activate Blocking Statute to Shield ICC from US Sanctions
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MEPs and several EU governments are pressing the European Commission to activate a 1996 blocking statute to prevent EU companies and banks from complying with US sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Trump administration, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, imposed asset freezes and financial sanctions on ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on August 18, 2026, accusing the court of being 'corrupt and fatally-politicised'. EU leaders, including diplomatic chief Kaja Kallas, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Council President António Costa, have voiced strong support for the ICC. ICC President Akane had previously urged the EU to extend the blocking statute to cover the court, as the bloc seeks to counter US efforts to undermine multilateral institutions.
Source report
The European Union has been urged to retaliate against Donald Trump's 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.
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, including asset freezes and financial penalties, on 18 August. The measures target ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane and 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 move is part of a broader Trump administration push to weaken the United Nations and other multilateral organisations.
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."
However, ICC and some EU officials are calling for the bloc to take stronger 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 — the 1996 regulation that prohibits European operators from complying with foreign extraterritorial sanctions.
Source
EUobserverWestern
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