EU criticises US threats against International Criminal Court

The European Union criticised threats against the International Criminal Court on Tuesday after the United States vowed a broad campaign against the tribunal.

EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said the EU was strongly committed to international criminal justice and the fight against impunity. He said attacks or threats against the court's elected officials, personnel or people cooperating with the court were not acceptable.

Washington on Monday threatened the court with further sanctions and other measures, accusing it of posing an intolerable threat to US sovereignty. The Trump administration said it would pressure other countries to withdraw from the court, in what the source described as an escalation of US efforts to isolate the Hague-based institution and reduce its political and financial support.

The State Department said the campaign would seek to disable the ICC's ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty.

The United States has previously targeted individual court officials it considered a threat to US interests. In February 2025, shortly after President Donald Trump returned to office, Washington imposed asset freezes and travel bans on several ICC officials over an arrest warrant issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza.

The United States and Israel have not ratified the treaty that created the ICC, and both reject the court's jurisdiction in cases involving the United States or Israel. Three ICC judges sanctioned by the Trump administration filed a lawsuit in June against Trump and other senior US officials, arguing that the measures against them were unlawful.

The ICC was established in 2002. It prosecutes individuals accused of grave atrocities, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.