EU to engage Trump's 'Board of Peace' despite internal split

The European Union announced that its diplomats will meet with the director of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, news agency Associated Press has reported.

The report said that Nikolay Mladenov, a UN diplomat chosen by Trump to manage the board, will meet the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and foreign ministers from member nations.

The EU, which is the top donor to the Palestinian Authority, plays a crucial oversight role at the Rafah border crossing and has supported the United Nations' mandate in Gaza.

On Thursday, France said it was surprised by the move, adding that the EU does not have the mandate to represent member states.

French foreign ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said as far as Paris was concerned, the Board of Peace "needed to recentre to focus on Gaza in line with a United Nations Security Council resolution" and that until that ambiguity was lifted, France would not take part.

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The development comes after Brussels announced that a European commissioner would participate in the meeting "without formally joining it".

While EU President Ursula von der Leyen turned down the invitation to join, the 27-nation bloc sent its commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, as an observer.

The European Commission represents the common interests of the EU and acts as its main executive body.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said sending Suica without consulting the European Council, the group of the bloc's leaders, broke EU regulations.

“The European Commission should never have attended the Board of Peace meeting in Washington,” Barrot said in a post on X.

On Friday, Paula Pinho, a spokesperson for the European Commission president, said: "It is in the remit of the Commission to accept invitations."

Twelve other EU nations, including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Greece, sent observers to the inaugural meeting in Washington on Thursday.

Israeli media have reported that Greece, Morocco and Albania are likely to join the International Stabilisation Force in Gaza following Indonesia, as part of the Peace Board initiative.

European leaders have criticised the Board of Peace for bypassing the UN mandate that supported its creation.

At the Munich Security Conference, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, accused Trump of using the Board of Peace as a personal vehicle.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced that his country will decline the invitation to join the Board of Peace, citing its divergence from international law and failure to include the Palestinian Authority.

US President Donald Trump convened the inaugural session of the Board of Peace for Gaza, an initiative framed within the 20-point ceasefire plan that took effect on 10 October and was later ratified in Davos, Switzerland, on 22 January.

The first official meeting drew mixed reactions online, after several announcements and policy signals from the board prompted frustration across social media.

Trump is set to serve as the board’s chairman for life.

Originally created to end the Gaza war, the board has expanded its mandate to cover global conflicts, a step critics say may position it as a rival to the United Nations.

A number of its members, including Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait, have pledged a total of $7bn towards relief efforts in Gaza.

During a media briefing on Monday, the European Commission said it had “a number of questions” about the council’s scope, governance and compatibility with the UN Charter.

The EU on Monday also called on Israel to reverse its land registration measures, which observers say amounts to illegal annexation of the occupied West Bank, calling it a "new escalation" in the region.

On 8 February, the Israeli government approved sweeping changes to land registration and civil control in the occupied West Bank, a move Palestinians say breaches the Oslo Accords and advances de facto annexation.

European Commission spokesman Anouar al-Anouni said: "We remind everyone that the annexation of (the occupied West Bank) is illegal under international law. We call on Israel to reverse this decision."

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