EU has options to protect ICC amid US measures against court: Foreign policy chief

The EU has options to ensure the International Criminal Court (ICC) can continue its work amid US measures against the court, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday.

“The six-month period before the US measures take effect offers a window of dialogue,” Kallas said at a news conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

“The EU has options to ensure that the court can continue its vital work,” she said, adding that member states were serious about protecting the court.

Kallas also addressed Russia’s participation in international sports and cultural events.

“Sports and culture must not become vehicles for whitewashing Russian aggression,” she said.

“My services, together with the Commission, will put forward proposals on how to sustain Russia’s isolation in global sports,” she added.

On cooperation with the US over sanctions against Russia, Kallas said joint action would have a greater impact.

“It would be much stronger if we would act together with the US,” she said.

“Every time we are together with the US, UK, or other like-minded partners, the sanctions have much bigger effect,” she added.

Kallas said the EU hoped a US bill introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham would be put into action “to finally pressure Russia to stop this war.”

Turning to maritime security, Kallas condemned Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport.

“The Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport were appalling acts of terror. There can be no justification for indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure,” she said.

“Keeping the Red Sea open is in Europe’s strategic interest,” she added.

“International waters, the arteries of our economy must remain open to everyone, not whoever can pay,” Kallas said, noting that more than 60 countries had pledged to oppose tolls and fees on international shipping routes.

The remarks came as EU foreign ministers adopted nearly 1,600 new sanctions listings targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex.

Kallas described the measure as the largest single expansion of the EU’s sanctions list since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

More than half of the listings target the production chain for ballistic missiles, she said.