On Thursday, 21 November, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič reminded European Union Member States on X that they had made a commitment – via conclusions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), which were adopted in June 2023 – to respect this court’s decisions.
“Important today to recall the EU Council Conclusions of 26/6/2023 on [the International Criminal Court], stating inter alia: ‘The Council calls upon all States to ensure full cooperation with the Court, including by the prompt execution of outstanding arrest warrants’”, he reminded them.
The ICC’s decisions are binding on the States that are party to the Rome Statute, including all EU Member States.
See EU Council’s conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/egf
Despite these commitments and obligations, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has invited his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu – targeted by an arrest warrant – to come to Hungary.
On the radio, he explained, “There is no choice here: we have to defy this decision” by the ICC, describing it as “outrageously brazen and cynical”. “I will invite [Mr Netanyahu] to visit Hungary, where I will guarantee him [...] that the judgment of the ICC will have no effect”, announced Mr Orbán, whose country currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The prime minister wrote to his Israeli counterpart “to stand by [him] and support him and the State of Israel and to invite him to make a diplomatic visit to Hungary”, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)