The International Criminal Court (ICC) and its representatives have been awarded the 2026 Sakharov Prize, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced on Thursday 22 October, to applause from the left of the chamber. She declared: “The European Parliament recognises the Court’s important work in upholding international law and justice”.
The ICC’s candidacy, which has been subject to US sanctions against the institution itself since 9 October (see EUROPE 13956/10), was put forward by the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), with the support of the Greens/EFA group and The Left. Its selection by the Conference of Presidents, which brings together the Parliament President and political group leaders and votes according to the size of each group, reveals divisions within the pro-European majority formed by the European People’s Party (EPP), S&D and Renew Europe.
According to a source close to the matter, the EPP maintained its support, alongside the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), for Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, while the other groups chose the ICC. The Patriots for Europe (PfE), who had nominated Iranian activists Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, abstained in the second round.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the award on the social media platform X. Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, French) paid tribute to the “courage” of the judges in the face of pressure from Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Mounir Satouri (Greens/EFA, French), for his part, criticised the Commission’s inaction as several MEPs called for the EU blocking statute to be activated to protect the ICC (see EUROPE 13964/15).
The award ceremony will take place in Strasbourg in December. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry with Mathieu Bion)