European Union and the International Criminal Court
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Due to its status as a supranational union, the European Union (EU) is not a party to the International Criminal Court (ICC), but it has been one of the ICC's strongest supporters. The EU has given political, financial and technical support to the court,[1] which is also based in its territory (The Hague, the Netherlands). All 27 EU member states are parties to the Rome Statute, which has a total of 125 member states worldwide. The 27 EU member states and the 125 member states of the ICC are obliged to detain and transfer any of the indicted individuals if any of them set foot on their territory.[2]
In 2001 the EU agreed to a common position, that is it has an EU-wide agreed foreign policy to strongly support the ICC. That position was updated in 2003 and combined with an action plan.[3][4]
All EU member states have signed and ratified the Rome Statute which established the court, having come into force in 2002. However, in 2025 Hungary announced that it would withdraw from the ICC.[5]
A 2006 co-operation agreement between the EU and ICC also obliges the EU and its members to assist the ICC, particularly by handing over classified information to the court.[1][6] Examples of this cooperation already include supporting the ICC in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur, the latter including the EU Satellite Centre providing imagery and reports.[7]
The Cotonou Agreement which the EU has with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States includes a binding article signalling support of those states for the ICC and that they should "take steps towards ratifying and implementing the Rome Statute and related instruments".[7] The EU has been inserting similar clauses in its association agreements and trade agreements around the world.[8]
