EU Criticizes Trump's 'Board of Peace' Over Gaza's Future

European Union officials have voiced significant concerns regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's 'Board of Peace,' a body established to oversee Gaza's reconstruction and governance. At the Munich Security Conference, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas criticized the board for lacking accountability to Palestinians and the United Nations. She noted that while the original UN resolution provided for a Board of Peace for Gaza, the current statute of the board omits references to Gaza, the UN, and limits on its duration. Kallas stated, 'So I think there is a security council resolution but the Board of Peace does not reflect it.'

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares accused Trump of attempting to bypass the original UN mandate for the board and highlighted Europe's exclusion from the process, despite being a major funder of the Palestinian Authority. U.S. Senator Chris Murphy expressed concerns that the board's structure lacks controls to prevent reconstruction funds from being misused.

In response, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz dismissed the criticisms as 'hand-wringing' and emphasized the need to break the status quo in Gaza. He confirmed that Indonesia had agreed to contribute 8,000 troops to the International Stabilization Force and indicated that more troop deployments would be announced soon.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Trump-appointed High Representative for Gaza, focused on immediate tasks such as improving humanitarian aid, decommissioning weapons, and ending Gaza's internal divisions. He warned that without swift action, the situation could escalate, stating, 'If we do not, we are not going to implement the second phase of the ceasefire but the second phase of the war.'

The discussions underscore the growing rift between the U.S. and the EU over Gaza's future and the mechanisms for its reconstruction and governance.