Brussels – “Attacks or threats against elected officials of the International Criminal Court are unacceptable.” This was stated by the European Commission’s spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Anouar El Anouni, at today’s press briefing (18 May) in response to a question about the suspension of US sanctions against Francesca Albanese and on the possibility of invoking the blocking statute—a legal instrument designed to protect EU economic operators from sanctions imposed by third countries—to defend International Criminal Court judges sanctioned by the Trump administration.
On the Albanese case, the Commission has no comment: “We have no comment to make, but I would like to reiterate that we, as the EU, support the International Criminal Court and the principles set out in the Rome Statute. We respect the impartiality and independence of the Court and are strongly committed to international criminal justice and the fight against impunity.” Meanwhile, regarding the US sanctions still in force against the European judges of the International Criminal Court, the Slovenian
Beti Hohler and the French Nicolas Guillou, for their role in issuing the arrest warrant against the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, the spokesperson recalls that “attacks or threats against the courts, elected officials, staff and those who cooperate with the Court are unacceptable.” He emphasises that the EU executive has “worked directly with the Court and the officials concerned to discuss the current situation they find themselves in” and “will continue to assess concrete measures.” He did not specify what these concrete measures entail, but the European Commission spokesperson for the Internal Market, Industrial Policy and Financial Services, Siobhan McGarry, went into more detail, highlighting that the Commission is “aware of the need to provide ongoing support to the Court, both financially and diplomatically” and that it is assessing “feasible solutions to enable its staff to continue their daily work.” The Berlaymont building states that it is in “constant contact” with Member States on this matter.
