E.U. angry over pro-U.S. stance

last updated 8 January 2015

Tirana, Albania

The E.U.’s executive body criticized Albania last week for promising not to hand over U.S. citizens to the International Criminal Court. The U.S. has said it will not ratify the treaty creating the International Criminal Court, set up in The Hague to try war criminals, unless its soldiers are exempt from prosecution. Albania recently became the second country, after Romania, to strike a bilateral deal with the U.S. not to extradite Americans. The European Union is vehemently against making an exception for any country’s nationals. “We told [the Albanians] we are disappointed because we have a common E.U. position,” European Commission spokeswoman Emma Udwin said. “We expect them to make European choices.”