The European Parliament awards the International Criminal Court with the Sakharov during Trump's full offensive against its judges

The so-called Blocking Statute of the European Union is Regulation (EC) No 2271/96, which aims to protect European individuals and companies against the extraterritorial application of certain laws from third countries (historically, the United States) considered contrary to international law and the interests of the EU. “Activating” it in practice means including new foreign laws in its annex or modifying those already covered, so that they become subject to the protection regime and obligations of the Regulation.

1. Basic legal framework

• Regulation 2271/96 establishes:
  • Which laws and decisions of third States are “blocked” (in the annex).
  • The prohibition for EU persons to comply with or abide by those extraterritorial laws, except with express authorization from the Commission.
  • The right to compensation for damages resulting from their application.
  • The obligation to notify the Commission of any direct or indirect effect of those rules on EU operators.
• The Regulation itself empowers the European Commission to amend the annex by delegated acts, under the control of the European Parliament and the Council.

2. Political trigger and technical analysis

The activation process almost always begins with an external political event: for example, the approval or reactivation of extraterritorial sanctions by a third State affecting European companies. From there, the following initial steps are essentially followed:

• Problem detection: Member States, companies, or even the European External Action Service alert the Commission that a new extraterritorial regulation is causing or may cause harm to the EU.
• Legal and economic assessment: the Commission’s services analyze whether:
  • The foreign measure has extraterritorial scope (i.e., intends to oblige EU actors for acts carried out outside the territory of the third State).
  • That extraterritoriality is contrary to international law or unjustifiably intrusive.
  • It causes or may cause serious harm to the interests of the EU or its operators.

3. Proposal to amend the annex

If the conclusion is positive, the Commission prepares a delegated act that amends the annex of Regulation 2271/96. Legally, this involves:

• Drafting a delegated regulation project that:
  • Precisely identifies the laws, regulations, or decisions of third countries to be covered.
  • Justifies, in the recitals, why they meet the criteria of Regulation 2271/96 (extraterritoriality, incompatibility with international law, harm to the EU).
• Consulting the Member States, usually through a group of experts or the Council, on the scope and practical effects of the inclusion.
• Conducting, when appropriate, consultations with affected sectors (companies, associations) and assessing the economic impact.

4. Approval of the delegated act

Once the draft is finalized, the formal delegated acts mechanism is activated:

• The Commission adopts the delegated act amending the annex of the Blocking Statute.
• European Parliament and Council have a period (usually two months, extendable) to examine the act:
  • They may raise no objections, in which case the act enters into force at the end of the period.
  • They may raise objections (for example, if they consider the delegation exceeded or is inappropriate). In that case, the delegated act does not enter into force.
• If no objections are raised within the period, the delegated act is published in the Official Journal of the EU and enters into force on the indicated date (usually a few days later).

5. Practical application in Member States

Once the annex is amended, the Blocking Statute is “activated” against the new extraterritorial measures. From there, several legal consequences follow:

• EU natural and legal persons are obliged not to comply with the listed foreign provisions, except for individual exemptions from the Commission (which may authorize compliance if non-compliance would seriously harm the affected person or the interests of the EU).
• Operators must notify the Commission within a short period of any effects those foreign laws have on them (asset embargoes, fines, requirements, etc.).
• Each Member State must have designated competent authorities and an effective, proportionate, and dissuasive sanction regime for those who fail to comply with the Blocking Statute obligations.
• Affected persons may exercise, before the courts of the Member States, the right to be compensated for damages resulting from the application of the foreign measures included in the annex.

6. Complementary measures

In parallel with the adjustment of the Blocking Statute, the EU may adopt other accompanying measures (funding lines, specific financial instruments, diplomatic coordination) to mitigate the impact of sanctions or extraterritorial laws on key sectors.

In summary, the activation process of the Blocking Statute is a formal legal procedure to amend a regulation through delegated acts of the Commission, subject to the control of Parliament and the Council, which results in concrete obligations and rights for EU companies and citizens against extraterritorial laws of third countries.

The President of the European Parliament, a position currently held by Roberta Metsola, is the highest authority of the institution and performs political, institutional, and administrative functions. Her powers lie halfway between the symbolic representation of the Eurochamber and the practical guarantee of its democratic proper functioning.

1. Institutional and political representation

• Official representative of the European Parliament: The President is the voice of the institution externally. She represents Parliament in its relations with other EU institutions (Commission, European Council, Council of the EU, Court of Justice, etc.) and with third States, national parliaments, international organizations, and civil society.
• Relationship with the European Council: At each European Council meeting, the President intervenes at the start to present Parliament’s position on the agenda items (for example, major political guidelines, budgets, international crises). This intervention makes visible the viewpoint of the only institution directly elected by the citizens.
• Signing legislative acts: Together with the President of the Council of the EU, the President of Parliament signs legislative acts adopted in co-decision (ordinary legislative procedure). Without that signature, the act is not published nor enters into force, reflecting Parliament’s co-legislator role.
• Signing the EU budget: Once the annual budget is approved by Parliament, the President signs it so it can enter into force. This certifies that the budgetary procedure has been properly completed.

2. Direction of parliamentary work

• Presiding over plenary sessions: The President directs debates in the Plenary: opens and closes sessions, gives and withdraws the floor, orders votes, announces results, and ensures respect for the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.
• Ensuring order and respect for rules: She has the power to call Members to order, enforce speaking times, and apply disciplinary measures provided in the Rules when rules are violated or the session is seriously disrupted.
• Interpretation of the Rules: In case of doubt about the application of a procedural rule during the Plenary, the President can make a first practical interpretation of the Rules, which may later be confirmed or revised by the competent bodies of the Chamber.
• Decision on admissibility of certain issues: She determines, following the rules, the admissibility of certain procedural initiatives (for example, some motions or points of order) and channels complaints or claims to the corresponding bodies.

3. Relationship with internal Parliament bodies

• Presiding over the Parliament’s Bureau: The Bureau is the administrative and financial governing body (personnel matters, internal budget, organization of services). The President heads it and guides its decisions.
• Presiding over the Conference of Presidents: The Conference brings together the chairs of political groups and organizes Parliament’s political work: agenda of sessions, allocation of speaking time, coordination among groups. The President acts as mediator and facilitator of agreements.
• Political impetus and coordination: Although the President does not lead political groups, she can propose priorities, call for cooperation among political forces, and try to build consensus on institutional or strategic matters.

4. Protocol and public representation functions

• International relations: She receives heads of State and Government, leaders of international organizations, leaders of third countries, and other personalities, acting as institutional host.
• Solemn acts: She presides over official ceremonies, solemn speeches before the Plenary, commemorations, and Parliament awards (such as the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought).
• Communication with citizens: Through speeches, appearances, and presence in media and networks, the President explains Parliament’s decisions and defends the institution’s role before European public opinion.

5. Guarantee of the democratic link

• Defense of Parliament’s prerogatives: She protects the rights and powers of the institution against possible interference or attempts to limit its role by other institutions or actors.
• Custody of respect for EU values: As representative of the Union’s democratic assembly, the President usually takes institutional positions when fundamental values are affected (rule of law, human rights, democracy), especially in debates on Article 7, respect for the rule of law, or democratic crises.

In summary, the President of the European Parliament — today Roberta Metsola — combines a role of presiding over debates and internal management with a function of high political and symbolic representation of European citizens and the institution itself before other Union and global actors.

Iratxe García Pérez belongs to the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). She has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2004 and has chaired the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group, known as S&D, in the European Parliament since June 2019. Her career combines an initial professional stage linked to social work with municipal, provincial, national, and European political responsibilities.

Education and professional experience

Born in 1974 and closely linked to Valladolid and Laguna de Duero, she studied Social Work at the University of Valladolid. Before fully dedicating herself to politics, she worked as a social worker and as an educator in vocational training courses. She has also been involved in volunteering and non-governmental organizations, according to her personal biography and the S&D profile.

This experience constitutes the part of her professional career prior to prolonged institutional dedication. Since the mid-1990s, her path has mainly developed in public offices and party responsibilities.

Political start and Spanish stage

She began her political activity in 1993, in the PSOE of Valladolid and the Socialist Youth. Her rise combined local representation with responsibilities within the youth organization, as reflected in her European Parliament curriculum:

• 1995-2000: she was a councilor of the Laguna de Duero City Council and provincial deputy of Valladolid.
• 1996-1999: she served as secretary general of the Socialist Youth of Valladolid and secretary of Municipal Policy of the Socialist Youth of Spain.
• 1999-2002: she held the General Secretariat of the Socialist Youth of Castile and León.
• 2000-2004: she was a deputy in the Congress during the VII Legislature, where she served as deputy spokesperson for Social Policy and Employment.

Within the PSOE, she has also held the deputy general secretary of the provincial leadership of Valladolid. She was part of the Federal Executive Commission between 2014 and 2016 and rejoined in 2017; among her federal responsibilities is European Union policy, according to her institutional curriculum.

Career in the European Parliament

In 2004 she obtained a seat in the European Parliament for the first time, where she has continued in successive legislatures. Her activity has covered regional development, gender equality, social policy, youth, disability, and relations with the Mediterranean and the Maghreb.

Between July 2014 and January 2017 she chaired the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality. She also led the Spanish Socialist Delegation between 2014 and 2016 and again between June 2017 and June 2019, according to her official career.

Her main responsibility came in June 2019, when she assumed the presidency of S&D. The position involves defining political priorities, coordinating parliamentary work, and representing the group in the Conference of Presidents, which organizes the work of the Eurochamber, as explained by Demócrata.

Party, group, and European responsibilities

It is useful to distinguish three areas: her Spanish party is the PSOE; her European parliamentary group is S&D; and the European party organization to which she is linked is the Party of European Socialists (PES). Since December 2018, she has been listed as first vice-president of the PES in her institutional curriculum.

In summary, her career has moved from social work and local politics to national representation and, since 2004, to continuous European dedication. The presidency of S&D is the responsibility that currently concentrates her political activity.