The European Union makes a square around the International Criminal Court after Donald Trump’s decision to impose penalties against his officials. The leaders of the Community institutions have arrived words of condemnation of the gesture while Italy and Hungary instead, for different reasons (in our case for the Almasri case), criticized the body.
The President of the United States, as promised, has signed yet another executive order with which he orders the US authorities to freeze the assets and impose travel prohibitions on the official officials and their family members who collaborate in investigations or have processes in progress against citizens of the United States or certain allied countries.
This is because, he accuses the American administration, the Court of Aia would have “abused his power” asking for an international arrest warrant against the current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and against the humanity committed in the war of October 2023 in the Gaza Strip.
Criticisms of the EU
“Pently the CPI threatens the independence of the Court and undermines the international criminal justice system as a whole”, wrote the president of the European Council on X, Antonio Costa, who yesterday met the president of the court, Tomoko Akane. “The International Criminal Court plays an essential role in making justice to the victims of some of the most horrible crimes in the world. Independence and impartiality are fundamental characteristics of the work of the court”, had written after the meeting, adding that the EU “remains committed to ending impunity and guaranteeing responsibility for all violations of international law”.
Sanctioning the ICC Threatens the Court’s Independent and Undermines the International Criminal Justice System As a Whole. https://t.co/zk0lsnb1p0
– António Costa (@eucopresident) Febration 7, 2025
The CPI “guarantees that the culprits respond” of the crimes committed and “gives voice to victims all over the world. It must be able to freely carry on the fight against global impunity. Europe will always defend justice and respect for international law” , he echoed him, always on social media, the president of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
“I believe it is wrong to impose penalties at the International Criminal Court. You can also get angry for something and arguing, but the penalties are the wrong vehicle,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during an electoral manifestation in Ludwigsburg, in view of the vote on February 23rd. These sanctions “endanger an institution that should make sure that the dictators of this world do not pursue people and do not break out wars”, added the Social Democrat.
“The role of the International Criminal Court is more crucial than ever,” said the UN special representative on the independence of the judges, Margaret Satterthwaite, remembering that the CPI “is the legacy of Nuremberg’s processes in order to never allow the i war crimes and crimes against humanity remain unpunished “.
Hungary thinks of going out
The Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán, who asked to “review” the participation of Hungary in the court after the executive order of Trump. “It is time for Hungary to review what we are doing in an international organization that has penalties from the United States,” he said, welcoming the “new winds” in international politics and, in particular, the arrival of ” Tornado Trump “. Budapest Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, said he considered the passage taken by Trump “understandable”, since the CPI would have become “a partial political tool”.
The controversy in Italy
In Italy, the controversy against the CPI instead concerns the Almasri affair and was exacerbated after the news published by the future, according to which the court would have opened a file against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the ministers Carlo Nordio and Matteo planted for not having delivered the Libyan commander, after the complaint of a Sudanese citizen, victim together with the wife of the military torture. According to the report, not by delivering Almasri to the CPI, the premier and ministers “abused their executive powers to disobey their international and national obligations”.
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Antonio Tajani, said he had “many reserves on the court behavior on this affair”, adding that “perhaps an investigation must be opened on the court, you have to have clarifications on how it behaved”.
