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Fifty-eight members of the European Parliament have urged the European Commission to shield the International Criminal Court (ICC) from US sanctions that threaten to disrupt its operations.
In a letter sent on Tuesday and seen by Euronews, the MEPs called on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to defend the Netherlands-based court against what they described as “an attack by a foreign power on an entity on EU territory”, warning of "devastating" consequences.
US President Donald Trump’s administration announced sanctions against the ICC last Friday, following repeated criticism of the court over its arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its investigation into the conduct of US troops in Afghanistan.
After an initial six-month grace period, the sanctions could severely hamper the court's operations by barring US banks and companies from doing business with it, although exemptions are envisaged for some telecommunications, software and payment services.
Given the dominance of US firms in global finance and technology, the restrictions could leave the ICC struggling to pay its bills and conduct financial transactions.
European banks, insurance companies and other intermediary firms with business interests in the US could also be affected, potentially facing secondary penalties if they continue working with the ICC.
The MEPs called for the use of “all instruments at our disposal” to shield the ICC from the sanctions. In particular, they urged the Commission to activate the EU's Blocking Statute, a mechanism designed to protect European companies and individuals from the extraterritorial effects of foreign sanctions.
The statute can prevent foreign court rulings based on specified laws from being enforced in the EU and allows European companies to seek compensation for losses caused by their extraterritorial application.
The Commission can add foreign laws to those covered by the statute, subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and EU member states.
The letter was drafted by European People’s Party (EPP) MEP Dirk Gotink and Socialists and Democrats (S&D) MEP Aurore Lalucq, and signed by lawmakers from the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe and the Greens/EFA groups.
The signatories warned that the sanctions threatened Europe's ability to protect its own citizens and institutions.
In a statement last Saturday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described the threat of sanctions against the ICC as “not acceptable”, reaffirming the bloc's commitment to international law. However, the EU has yet to take concrete action.
The ICC has 125 member states. The United States signed the Rome Statute, which established the court, but never ratified it.