Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.
EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Briefed” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms.
You can find the transcript here if you prefer reading:
In Brussels, several EU member states are angry with the European Commission. These countries did not appreciate that the EU’s executive body attended the first meeting of the “Board of Peace” launched by Donald Trump.
What was the alternative for the EU? Should Europeans stay away from this initiative?
The Board of Peace created by Donald Trump is initially in charge of overseeing the implementation of the peace plan in Gaza. Many world leaders have been invited to participate, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Alexandre Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, and Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The first meeting took place yesterday in Washington, D.C., with the aim of raising funds for the reconstruction of Gaza.
But in the longer term, many voices believe Donald Trump is trying to replace the United Nations. He recently said on social media that his Board of Peace “will prove to be the most consequential international body in history.”
An initiative that was absolutely not coordinated with the international community.
That is why many leaders of powerful states refused to take part, such as France, Germany, and the UK.
But surprisingly, the European Commission, which normally executes the decisions taken by EU member states, unilaterally chose to send one of its commissioners as an observer: the Croatian Dubravka Šuica, responsible for the Mediterranean.
Why did it do so?
The European Commission didn’t receive a mandate from the EU Member States, but it considers that its presence is necessary.
The justification for being present is that, as the EU is the largest donor to Palestine and committed to the reconstruction effort, it is important that it has a seat at the table, two Commission spokespersons explained in recent days.
“Otherwise, we will simply be a payer and not a player,” said Guillaume Mercier, spokesperson for the Mediterranean.
The EU surely doesn’t want to see the example of the Ukraine peace talks repeated, where it has been completely sidelined by the US and Russia, despite being closely engaged.
On this specific issue, you can listen to yesterday’s episode of Briefed.
Apart from commissioner Dubravka Šuica, a handful of member states participated in the Board of Peace meeting, either as participants, like Hungary and Bulgaria, or as observers, like Italy, Greece, Romania, Cyprus, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani, who was present on site, said that there was no alternative to this format to implement the peace plan for Gaza.
In total, eight European countries were present. As these member states are among Donald Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters, the European Commission may have considered it necessary to balance that approach, which is not shared by all EU countries.
The problem here is that the European Commission was not entitled to represent the 27 member states, because it didn’t act upon their request. According to France and Belgium, the European Commission should have stayed in Brussels.
Since Trump’s return to power in the US, Europeans have been trying to maintain a good relationship with the American administration despite many difficulties. But the Board of Peace is so unconventional that approving its existence poses risks for the international world order.
Donald Trump created it unilaterally and appointed himself chairman for life. And he is exclusively authorised to invite other countries to join, according to the charter signed at the end of January.
Plus, the executive board is mainly composed of people close to Trump.
While the EU’s presence as an observer doesn’t prejudge any future position, it does send a signal: implicitly that the EU does not clearly disagree with Donald Trump’s way of handling the situation.
