EU to US: 'Withdraw the sanctions on the ICC, we are ready to defend it'

Europe is closing ranks in defense of the International Criminal Court. By calling on the United States to withdraw its sanctions, Brussels says it is "ready" to deploy all necessary measures to protect the Court and allow it to continue operating. While it weighs the possible paths to take to guarantee the Court's operations and safeguard European companies, the EU nonetheless does not intend to abandon the diplomatic route. Welcoming "with favor the American willingness to discuss its concerns with the States Parties to the Rome Statute," the EU sees the delay in the entry into force of the measures as an opening to pursue. The American sanctions do not in fact take effect immediately: there is first a six-month grace period, which opens a window to negotiate or at least try to soften American anger against the ICC, long in Donald Trump's crosshairs. The timeframe available "creates space for diplomacy, with the goal of obtaining a rapid revocation of the sanctions and preventing further measures aimed at compromising the independence and integrity of the Court," said High Representative Kaja Kallas in a statement on behalf of the EU. One of the possible paths for Brussels is the one relaunched by Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévo, namely resorting to the 'Blocking Statute'. The 'Blocking Statute' prohibits European companies and operators from complying with foreign sanctions and prevents judicial decisions based on the blocked sanctioning laws from being recognized in the EU. This, however, would not fully shield European companies exposed to the American market and would not automatically guarantee the ICC access to the services of US companies. Also calling for a "revocation" of the "coercive measures" is the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC, describing them as "deplorable," while Nobel Prize winner Navy Pillay has branded them "unacceptable." It was precisely Pillay's appointment, a former judge of the Court, that seems to have further sharpened Trump's antipathy toward the ICC. "I have never heard her name. I have solved eight wars and there should have been a Nobel for each one. We will not forget Norway's refusal to award the Nobel to the United States," thundered the president, speaking of an "indelible stain" on Oslo and of "a prize discredited forever by a handful of radical ideologues." Also in Trump's crosshairs is the UN, whose independent international commission of inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territories, led by Pillay, accused Israel a year ago of committing genocide in the Strip. According to reports, in fact, the president is opposed to all the candidates in the running for the leadership of the United Nations and would like others more in line with his worldview and his desire to radically change the institution. The mandate of Secretary-General António Guterres expires at the end of December and the new leader should take office in January. Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA