MEP warns EU of digital sabotage as ICC prosecutor blocked from Microsoft email
Agius Saliba urges EU action after US sanctions disrupt access for top international court official
A Maltese MEP asked the EU Commission about the US's “sabotage of the international rule of law” following reports that the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor lost access to his Microsoft email account due to Trump administration sanctions.
“We want to raise several questions in relation to the digital sabotage of the international rule of law by the US administration targeted at an international organisation seated in one of the EU’s Member States,” Alex Agius Saliba told Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The US president issued sanctions against the criminal court and its chief prosecutor in February, after the international body issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
On Thursday, Euronews reported that the ICC’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, has lost access to his Microsoft email address, and his bank accounts in his UK home country have been blocked.
The sanctions from Trump’s executive order threaten any person, institution, or company with fines and prison time if they provide Khan with financial, material, or technological support. American staffers have been warned they could be arrested if they return.
In his question to von der Leyen, Agius Saliba asked if the European Commission has taken any diplomatic action concerning the US’s sanctions against ICC officials for “the actions undertaken in their official capacity to protect the functioning of the international rule of law.”
He also asked if the Commission has spoken to Microsoft representatives over the issue.
Agius Saliba also asked if there are measures possible under EU law to force Microsoft to resume their services.
The Maltese PL MEP also asked how does the Commission assess the risks to other European and international entities, both public and private, of falling victim to this example, where a US Big Tech company like Microsoft withdraws essential digital services if their actions go against the wishes of the Trump administration.
Contacted for comment, Agius Saliba said the issue stems from the fact that most of the digital infrastructure used in the EU is based in other continents.
“Almost all the cloud services we use every day are not based in the EU, and that puts us at risk to actions like Trump’s sanctions against the ICC.”
Similar sanctions could be imposed on any country and any person that says or acts in a way that the US or any other country does not like, he said.
Asked about a €4 million Microsoft AI deal the Maltese government has just signed, Agius Saliba said the issue is not about Microsoft but the influence and power that the countries these companies come from hold.
“Microsoft cannot take unilateral actions to stop the provision of services - but complications can easily arise when Big Tech originating outside of the Union would have to follow sanctions and orders from foreign governments impacting directly our digital infrastructure,” he said.