The European Union (EU) has reaffirmed its support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), rejecting a renewed campaign by the administration of US President Donald Trump to undermine the Hague-based tribunal.
Speaking on Tuesday, European Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said the bloc’s position on the ICC remained unchanged, stressing the EU’s commitment to the fight against impunity.
“We stand firm in our support for the International Criminal Court,” El Anouni said, highlighting the court’s role in prosecuting perpetrators of some of the world’s gravest crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He said attempts to undermine the court were unacceptable.
“Attacks or threats against the court, its elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court are simply not acceptable,” El Anouni said.
Rejecting Washington’s argument that the ICC threatens national sovereignty, he said the court “does not target sovereign states, nor does it constitute a threat to their sovereignty.”
Instead, he added, the tribunal “exercises jurisdiction over individuals, perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.”
European Commission spokesperson Siobhan McGarry also reaffirmed the bloc’s support for the court, saying the EU remained committed to safeguarding its independence and ensuring it could continue its work.
“The Commission continues to support the ICC’s work, including its investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity, and we are already facilitating all appropriate measures, including diplomatic, legal and financial avenues that could help ensure the continuity of the ICC’s operations,” she said.
The remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a campaign to “systematically disable” the ICC, accusing the tribunal of interfering with US military and law enforcement operations and claiming it threatened American sovereignty.
In an accompanying opinion piece, Rubio said that the court endangered “every aspect of our political and legal system,” invoking scenarios in which US border patrol agents and elected leaders could be “dragged before an international court” and brought before international judges.
The State Department said the campaign would involve a “wide range of actions,” including efforts to pressure countries to withdraw from the ICC and increased scrutiny of governments that continue to support the court while receiving US assistance.
The ICC, established under the 1998 Rome Statute, investigates and prosecutes individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
In November 2024, the UN-backed court issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The latest developments also come as more than 100 international law experts in the United States have warned that the US aggression against Iran could constitute war crimes under international law.
The experts expressed particular concern over strikes on schools, healthcare facilities and residential areas, including a late-February missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh all-girls elementary school in Iran.
Since Trump returned to office last year, his administration has steadily intensified pressure on the Hague-based court.
So far, the United States has imposed sanctions on 11 ICC officials, including the chief prosecutor and eight judges, leaving them facing travel bans, frozen access to financial services, and the suspension of accounts with major US technology companies.
