EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 12 October affirmed their willingness to protect the International Criminal Court (ICC), following the announcement three days prior of US sanctions against the institution as a whole (see EUROPE 13956/10).
“Member States were clear: they are serious about protecting the Court”, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas at a press conference following the Council of the EU meeting.
The EU’s top diplomat also said that she had spoken with ICC President Tomoko Akane, and discussed with ministers the various options available to the EU to enable the institution to continue its work.
She pointed out that the six-month period before US sanctions come into effect presented an opportunity for dialogue with the United States.
This position echoes the one expressed by Member States in a statement published on Saturday 10 October, in which they deplored the sanctions announced by the United States and called on it to reverse its decision.
In the statement, the EU said it was ready to take “all necessary measures” to ensure the ICC can function, and to protect its staff and its collaborators, including civil society representatives and service providers.
The EU is also counting on discussions between the States Parties to the Rome Statute and the United States in order to secure the swift withdrawal of the sanctions and prevent further measures against the Court.
At her press conference, Ms Kallas did not address the specific ways the institution would be protected, or the possible activation of the EU blocking statute, adopted in 1996 to protect European citizens and businesses from the extraterritorial effects of foreign sanctions.
Last Friday, the chairs of the Committees on Foreign Affairs (AFET), International Trade (INTA), and Legal Affairs (JURI), the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), and the Delegation for relations with the United States (D-US) called on the European Commission to immediately activate the EU blocking statute. They condemned it in a joint statement as an “unacceptable assault on the foundations of international justice”. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)