EU diplomats to meet Board of Peace director over Gaza’s future

The European Union’s top diplomats are scheduled to convene on Monday with Nikolay Mladenov, the director of the Board of Peace in Brussels, following a tumultuous and contentious embrace of U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiatives to secure and reconstruct the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. diplomat handpicked by Trump to oversee the Board of Peace, will hold discussions with Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, as well as foreign ministers from the 27-member bloc. The agenda is expected to encompass deliberations on the conflict in Ukraine and the imposition of fresh sanctions on Russia.

Situated just across the Mediterranean Sea from the Middle East, the EU maintains strong ties with both Israel and the Palestinians. The EU currently plays a pivotal supervisory role at the Rafah border crossing and stands as the primary donor to the Palestinian Authority.

The decision on whether to collaborate with the Trump-led board has created divisions among member states, with capitals from Nicosia to Copenhagen taking opposing stances. While the EU upholds its support for the United Nations’ mandate in Gaza, EU members Hungary and Bulgaria are among the full-fledged members of the Board of Peace, alongside EU candidate countries Turkey, Kosovo, and Albania.

Furthermore, twelve additional EU nations dispatched observers to the inaugural meeting in Washington, including Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Notably, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Pope Leo XIV declined invitations to join the board. However, von der Leyen appointed European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica as an observer at the gathering in Washington.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot criticized the decision to send Šuica without consulting the European Council, labeling it a breach of EU regulations. Despite the controversy, von der Leyen’s spokesperson, Paula Pinho, defended the Commission’s attendance, emphasizing its commitment to influencing reconstruction and peacekeeping efforts in Gaza beyond its role as the top donor to the Palestinian Authority.

While Trump’s ambitious plans for the board encompass governing and revitalizing Gaza into a modern metropolis, as well as challenging the U.N. Security Council’s conflict resolution role, the practicalities of addressing the complexities of Gaza may temper these aspirations. Progress towards achieving the ceasefire’s narrower objectives in Gaza has been slow, underscoring the challenges of navigating the region’s intricate political landscape.