The International Criminal Court (ICC) is increasingly becoming Europeans’ “own personal court” as the US expands sanctions on the institution, an expert has told RT.

George Szamuely, a senior research fellow at the Global Policy Institute in Budapest, pointed out that major global powers such as the US, Russia, and China do not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction, leaving European nations as its main backers.

“So essentially the ICC is becoming a European project,” he said.

Szamuely argued that the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to former ICC judge Navi Pillay underscored Europe’s support for the court.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Pillay the prize on October 9, just hours before Washington imposed sanctions on the ICC as an institution, expanding measures that had previously targeted individual officials.

The ICC is now becoming increasingly the tool of the Europeans.

According to Szamuely, European lawmakers sought to reaffirm their backing for the court despite mounting pressure from Washington.