**BERLIN**
Germany on Thursday criticized Hungary’s decision to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“This is a bad day for international criminal law,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told journalists in Brussels on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting.
“Europe also has clear rules here that apply to all EU members, and that is the Rome Statute. I have repeatedly made it clear that no one in Europe is above the law, and that applies to all areas of law,” she added.
The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the court.
Under the statute, the ICC can investigate and prosecute four core international crimes -- genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression -- in cases where states are “unable” or “unwilling” to do it.
Hungary announced Thursday its decision to leave the ICC, coinciding with the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to that country for a four-day visit.
Netanyahu's visit marks the first time he has set foot on European soil since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him in November on accusations of war crimes in Gaza.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have urged Hungary to arrest Netanyahu and hand him to the ICC.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday that he does not expect Netanyahu to face arrest in Germany, despite the ICC warrant.
Incoming German chancellor, conservative Friedrich Merz, also said he would like to host Netanyahu in Berlin.
Germany is legally obligated to cooperate with the ICC, including executing arrest warrants, as a signatory to the Rome Statute since 1998 and having ratified it in 2000.
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