EU lawmakers press Commission to shield International Criminal Court from US sanctions

Two members of the European Parliament called on Monday for the European Commission to invoke the EU's blocking statute to stop European banks automatically cutting off International Criminal Court judges and prosecutors sanctioned by the United States over the court's investigation into Israeli war crimes. Nine ICC judges and four prosecutors are currently under US sanctions, and European banks have been pre-emptively denying them services for fear of secondary sanctions even though the US measures do not legally bind EU entities. The Netherlands, which hosts the court, made the same request to the Commission on 23 September.

← See the full edition