Present in Brussels on Tuesday 17 February, French judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) Nicolas Guillou detailed the effects of the US sanctions that have targeted him since August 2025. Going beyond his own case, his speech to journalists raised the issue of the independence of the institutions of the European Union, if their members can be undermined by economic measures decided abroad.
“Being under sanctions means three things”, the judge began. The measures taken against him are based on Executive Order 14203, signed by US President Donald Trump on 6 February.
In addition to the ban on entry into the United States and the freezing of assets, they provide - “and this is at the heart of the sanctions”, explained Nicolas Guillou - “for a ban on any American natural or legal person providing services or receiving services from a person under sanctions”.
This affects payment methods and digital services. However, in the EU - where two-thirds of card transactions in the euro area were carried out by international systems in the first half of 2024, according to the European Central Bank - a significant proportion of banking infrastructures and digital platforms rely on American players such as Visa and Mastercard.
As a result, “as a European citizen, we realise that we are excluded from part of Europe’s internal market”. The judge also mentioned the “over-compliance” of certain financial institutions, which refuse transactions out of an abundance of caution.
In his view, this situation demonstrates the fragility of Europe’s autonomy, given its dependence on infrastructures outside the EU. “Economic, banking and digital sovereignty in Europe today is a prerequisite for the survival of democracy”, he said.
Sovereignty and the Rule of law. The judge stressed the risk of self-censorship. “If all these individuals are afraid to do their job and in fact no longer make the decision, we have left democracy”, he stressed, referring to judges, prosecutors, journalists and politicians who could be exposed to similar measures.
“We need strong messages at European level”, he said. And adding that: “Not messages of aggression, but positive ones, which say that we believe in a series of values”, as the EU was built on “never again”, the prevention of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which it must “remember”.
One possible solution is the “blocking” regulation, which aims to limit the consequences of certain US measures with extraterritorial reach.
The ICC is asking for it to be activated. However, this regulation, originally drawn up in response to specific US sanctions - relating to Cuba and Iran - was not designed for a case such as this.
On the subject of financial and digital dependency, last week the European Central Bank recommended (see EUROPE 13806/5) the introduction of a digital euro to increase autonomy in payments. In the European Parliament, the Chair of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Aurore Lalucq (S&D, French), has for several months been defending the idea of a European payment system capable of reducing dependence on American infrastructures.
In the afternoon, Nicolas Guillou was due to meet European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis, as well as Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luís Albuquerque. At the press conference closing the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) held the same day (see other news), Valdis Dombrovskis stated that the meeting would address both the immediate impact of the sanctions on the availability of financial services for the ICC judges concerned and ways to strengthen strategic autonomy, particularly in the field of payments and the digital euro.
Nicolas Guillou did not elaborate on specific technical solutions. “I am neither a Member of the European Parliament nor a Commissioner”, he pointed out.
But as he explained: protecting the Rule of law also requires economic tools. And without a European capacity to guarantee the continuity of essential services, the independence of public services may be undermined. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)