The Socialists: “The EU must protect the judges of the Criminal Court from unlawful foreign sanctions”

Brussels – Following the news that the US has suspended sanctions against UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese, the European Commission should now activate the Blocking Statute to protect judges at the International Criminal Court from US restrictive measures. This is the call made by the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. “We call on the European Commission to activate the blocking statute to protect the judges of the International Criminal Court from unlawful foreign sanctions,” the S&D Group tweeted today (15 May) on its social media channels. The tweet was published after a court in the District of Columbia, Washington, on 13 May suspended the sanctions against the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese. The news was welcomed “with approval” by the group, which emphasised: “The rule of law must prevail over the law of the jungle.”

Enacted by the European Union Regulation No 2271/96, the blocking statute is a European legislative instrument designed to protect EU economic operators from the extraterritorial effects of sanctions imposed by third countries. In short, it prevents companies and citizens from complying with certain foreign sanctions when these conflict with European law. The Socialists have called on the Commission to apply the measure to judges at the International Criminal Court—and European citizens—who are still subject to sanctions by the US government. These include, for example, the Slovenian Beti Hohler and the Frenchman
Nicolas Guillou, who were sanctioned by Donald Trump’s administration in June 2025 for their role in issuing the arrest warrant against the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant.

The request to invoke the blocking clause was made by Spain and Slovenia in early May. Yesterday (14 May), this was also reiterated by the MEP from the Five Star Movement, Danilo Della Valle. “Francesca Albanese’s rights have been violated by the Trump administration, and neither the European institutions nor the Italian government have intervened in her defence. It was a US judge who restored justice and truth. Yet the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories is an Italian and European citizen. How do Ursula von der Leyen and Giorgia Meloni explain their complicit silence regarding Trump’s sanctions?”, stated the Five Star Movement representative. “If the European Commission does not want to lose face entirely, let it activate the Blocking Statute, the legal shield created to protect European citizens and entities from the effects of sanctions imposed by third countries such as the United States,” he emphasised, stressing that “these illegal and unjustified sanctions” represent “an unacceptable violation of human rights against citizens who, through their work, seek to uphold international law.”