Block US sanctions on ICC, EU lawmakers tell Commission

EU lawmakers are calling for the Commission to forbid European firms and banks from applying U.S. sanctions, as Washington weighs sanctioning the International Criminal Court over its actions concerning Israel. The U.S. has already targeted nine of the court’s judges and four prosecutors since the Netherlands-based institution issued a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “To protect its values, [the EU] needs to protect the ICC and the people who work there. It means … activating the blocking statute,” said Dutch lawmaker Dirk Gotink of the center-right European People’s Party after a closed-door meeting of the economy committee on Monday evening. U.S.