‘Bullies cannot be appeased’: Pressure mounts on EU to shield ICC from new US sanctions

The Trump administration seems ready to hit the International Criminal Court with new sanctions, as it seeks in its own words to “dismantle” the global tribunal – further blowing up what remains of the rule of law and international justice. According to media reports, the move would go beyond sanctions on ICC officials and judges and target the institution as a whole, prohibiting most financial and commercial transactions with the ICC. The scale and scope is set to be announced next week shortly after the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York, but many already fear operations and ongoing investigations of the Hague-based court will be significantly disrupted. New sanctions will keep putting pressure on the EU to activate its little-known “blocking statute,” which would prevent EU companies and banks from complying with the sanctions – a long demand from a few EU member states, MEPs, NGOs, UN officials and experts since the Trump’s first ICC sanctions in February 2025. But even the impact of such an instrument is limited. The US and Israel, which are not state parties under the ICC Rome Statute, object to the court’s arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the war in Gaza, and investigations into US military actions in Afghanistan. In response, Washington has already targeted more than a dozen current and former ICC members, including president judge Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye back in August. The EU responded with kind words of “unwavering support,” saying that the ICC is a “cornerstone of the international criminal justice system and the global fight against impunity”. But whether Brussels is ready to step up - and how quickly it can move - to protect the court is a new test of the EU's rhetorical support and commitment to rule of law.