Summary

The European Commission proposes that the EU sign the Enlarged Partial Agreement (EPA) on the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. The EU will become a founding member of the Management Committee, which will finance the tribunal, approve its budget, elect judges and prosecutors, and provide non‑judicial advice.

Background

• Russia began an unprovoked war against Ukraine in February 2022.
• The European Council condemned the aggression on 24 Feb 2022 and called for Russia’s full accountability.
• The UN General Assembly adopted resolutions on 2 Mar 2022 and 23 Feb 2023 demanding an end to the war and accountability for the most serious crimes.
• 39 EU member states referred the situation to the ICC on 2 Mar 2022, but the ICC cannot prosecute the crime of aggression under the Rome Statute.
• The EU, the High Representative, and the Council have repeatedly urged the creation of a special tribunal to try those responsible for the aggression.
• From January 2023 to March 2025, the Core Group (about 40 states, the EU, and the Council of Europe) drafted the legal instruments for the tribunal.
• The Lviv Statement (9 May 2025) reaffirmed the commitment to establish the tribunal.
• The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers approved the agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe (24 June 2025) and the EPA (25 June 2025).
• The EU signed a €10 million contribution agreement on 22 Jan 2026 to set up an Advance Team that will prepare the institutional, logistical and organisational foundations for the tribunal.

Legal basis

• Article 212 TFEU (technical and financial cooperation with third countries).
• Article 218(5) TFEU (Council decision to conclude an agreement).
• The EPA is a non‑binding instrument until the EU completes its internal procedures.

Subsidiarity & proportionality

• The EU’s participation complements, rather than replaces, national actions.
• The EU’s contribution is proportionate to the overall cost of the tribunal.

Budgetary implications

• The EU will pay an annual contribution once the EPA enters into force (likely after 2028).
• The €10 million Advance Team contribution covers staff costs for 2026–2027.
• The EU will also support evidence collection through the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA) and cooperation with Eurojust.

Other EU actions that align with the EPA

• Eurojust’s evidence database (CICED) and the ICPA (established July 2023).
• The Ukraine Facility Regulation (2024) and the Ukraine Compensation Mechanism (Register of Damage, Claims Commission).
• EU sanctions and the Freeze and Seize Task Force against Russia.
• EUAM Ukraine and the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group.

Decision

The Council will adopt a decision authorising the Commission to notify the Secretary‑General of the Council of Europe of the EU’s intention to join the EPA and to participate in the adoption of the Council of Ministers’ resolution establishing the EPA. The decision takes effect on the day it is adopted.

Broader Context

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 raised an immediate legal problem: no existing court could put Russia's leaders on trial for the decision to start the war itself. The International Criminal Court (ICC) — the usual venue for war crimes — has a gap in its rules that prevents it from prosecuting the crime of aggression when a powerful, non-member country like Russia is involved. This tribunal is being created specifically to close that gap.

The "crime of aggression" means launching a war against another country without legal justification. It is sometimes called the "supreme international crime" because all other war crimes follow from it. Holding leaders personally responsible for starting a war — not just for atrocities committed during it — is rare in history.

The Council of Europe (46 member countries, separate from the EU) is hosting the tribunal's legal framework. The EU is joining its Management Committee, meaning it will help fund, govern, and shape the court alongside other countries.

Impact on EU Citizens

As an EU citizen, your taxes will contribute to funding this tribunal — roughly €10–11 million per year once it is fully running, on top of the €10 million already committed for the setup phase. In return, the EU gets a formal seat at the table in governing the court.

Beyond money, this signals that the EU is treating accountability for the war as a long-term priority. The tribunal could take years to hold trials — prosecuting a sitting or former head of state is an enormously complex process — but the EU is committing to see it through.