Trump’s “peace council”: the European Union will participate in its inaugural meeting without becoming a member

A European commissioner will participate this week in the inaugural meeting of Donald Trump’s “Peace Council”, without the European Union (EU) joining this body, Brussels announced on Monday. Dubravka Suica, Commissioner for the Mediterranean, will go to Washington for this meeting, scheduled for this Thursday, in order to voice the European position on the situation in Gaza.

“She will participate in the Peace Council meeting for the specific part devoted to Gaza. I would like to emphasize that the European Commission does not become a member of the Peace Council, declared an EU spokesperson, Guillaume Mercier.

A billion dollars needed to join

The body headed by Donald Trump was designed to end the war in the Gaza Strip, but its charter assigns it the much broader goal of resolving armed conflicts around the world. Permanent members of the “Peace Council” must pay $1 billion to join, sparking criticism that the council could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council.

During a press point on Monday, Brussels stressed that it still had “a certain number of questions” regarding this body. And in particular linked to “its scope”, its “governance” and “its compatibility with the Charter of the United Nations”.