Commission spokesperson emphasized that Commissioner Dubravka Šuica’s participation in Thursday’s first meeting of the so-called Board of Peace is motivated solely by the EU’s interest in maintaining the ceasefire in Gaza and rebuilding the territory. Some member states, such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy and Romania, will send their own delegations to the inaugural meeting of controversial body.
We are not interested in membership, but we will send an observer to the meeting. This sums up the European Commission’s position on the Board of Peace, a controversial project recently launched by US President Donald Trump. Many perceive the Board of Peace as a commercial project serving US interests and potentially competing with the United Nations.
Gaza only, thank you
“The EU Commission is not becoming a member of the Board of Peace. We are participating in this meeting precisely in our longstanding commitment to the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza, as well as to take part in international efforts to support reconstruction and the post-war recovery in Gaza,” spokesperson Guillaume Mercier told reporters according to Reuters.
The EU Commission is not becoming a member to the Board of Peace. – Guillaume Mercier, European Commission spokesperson
Sources close to the Commission stress that Dubravka Šuica, Commissioner for the Mediterranean, will participate only in the ’specific part of the meeting dedicated to Gaza’. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also received an invitation to the February 19 meeting, but she is not going to participate.
Let us not be sidelined
Member states’ ministers of foreign affairs will discuss and coordinate the EU’s position towards the Board of Peace next week in Brussels. Nikolay Mladenov, Bulgarian diplomat appointed by President Trump as High Representative for Gaza, will also attend. Mr Mladenov was tasked with linking up the Board of Peace with a technocratic Palestinian committee responsible for running its day-to-day business.
An EU official said the bloc wants to play a role in the reconstruction of Gaza despite numerous concerns over the Board’s executive set-up, which was initially conceived as a vehicle to rebuild the territory and now has expanded its mandate to ’global peace’.
The European Union is the biggest donor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, with a total contribution of €1.65bn since October 2023. Thus, Ms Šuica’s participation in the Thursday’s meeting can be seen as an EU’s attempt not to be sidelined by the United States.
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Promoting peacekeeping or rather US interests?
Board of Peace is an international organization announced by President Trump in September 2025. Its charter was signed on 22 January 2026. Originally it was intended as a body tasked with overseeing the processes of the Gaza Peace Plan.
Critics argue, however, that the institution currently bears little resemblance to the original idea and that it is rather centered on Mr Trump’s interests. Many suspect that Donald Trump is trying to direct the Board of Peace to become an alternative to the United Nations Security Council—with only Mr Trump holding the veto power. Participating countries would have to donate US$1bn to the organization to renew their membership after the first three years.
