Spain asks the European Commission to ensure that US sanctions against Francesca Albanese and judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court have no effect in the EU

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has urged the European Commission to protect leading figures in international law from the sanctions imposed by the US government. Since February 2025, the United States has sanctioned eleven judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court in successive rounds, and in July 2025 began applying these measures against Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

To address this situation, Spain has requested the immediate activation of the Blocking Statute, the European Union's main instrument for neutralising the effects of foreign sanctions on European territory.

In a letter addressed to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission, Pedro Sánchez warned that these sanctions "set a very worrying precedent that compromises the independent functioning of institutions essential for international justice." The pressure tactics authorised by President Trump include the cancellation of bank accounts and services, travel restrictions, and all kinds of obstacles to prevent them from doing their job: investigating and prosecuting human rights violations.

Traditionally, Regulation (EC) No 2271/1996, known as the Blocking Statute, has served to protect European economic operators against the extraterritorial application of third-country laws that affect the interests of the European Union (it currently applies to certain US laws). In its letter to the Commission, the Government of Spain argues that it is time for this mechanism to "move beyond the commercial logic for which it was created" and serve as a shield against measures that jeopardise the multilateral system based on the UN Charter and international law.

To achieve this, the European Union would have to include the harmful foreign law in the Annex to the Regulation. In this case, Spain requests the inclusion of several US executive orders, issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act, which underpin the sanctions.

The letter recalls that the International Criminal Court has an essential role in combating impunity and ensuring accountability for the most heinous crimes (genocide, war crimes, aggression, and crimes against humanity), and that UN Special Rapporteurs play a key role in investigating allegations of human rights violations. Therefore, the sanctions not only affect the targeted parties, but also "erode the entire regulatory architecture that underpins international relations," Sánchez emphasises.

Spain is already working to enlist the support of other Member States committed to international justice and the defence of human rights to form a coalition to back the request to the Commission. Furthermore, it will promote the inclusion of this issue on the agenda of the European Council meeting of 18 and 19 June 2026, with the aim of ensuring that its Conclusions include an explicit political mandate for the Commission.

"Our shared commitment to International Law demands a decisive and coherent response," Pedro Sánchez states in his letter to Von der Leyen. At a time of global uncertainty, when some actors are attempting to dismantle the international order, the EU must reinforce its commitment to the pillars of a system of peace and progress built over generations. The activation of the Blocking Statute is an opportunity to continue bolstering real and effective European sovereignty, beyond the protection of economic interests.

Non official translation