Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The EU is quite steadfast and strong in supporting the ICC and in respecting its independence. That was again very evident at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday. I make the point that, as the Deputy knows, the application for arrest warrants in respect of Prime Minister Netanyahu and defence minister Gallant has elicited a very negative reaction from Israel and the United States. As a direct response, on 3 June the US House of Representative passed the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Bill, which requires that the President impose sanctions on any foreign person and their immediate family members or legal entity that engages with or materially assists the ICC in its investigations. I urge the Deputy and his party to engage with any contacts they may have on Capitol Hill in the US and urge them to refrain from taking this action, which would lead to the independence of the court being terribly undermined. There is a long way to go before that happens. The ICC has called on European member states to implement and apply the EU's blocking statute in respect of the Bill. The blocking statute was last adopted in 1996 in response to US secondary sanctions on Cuba, Iran and Libya. We need to be very vigilant in respect of this matter because the independence of the ICC is essential.

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