On Monday 16 February, European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier confirmed that the Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, will be travelling to Washington on Thursday to participate in the Board of Peace meeting for the specific part dedicated to Gaza.
“The European Commission, it’s not becoming a member of the Board of Peace”, said Mr Mercier. Adding that: “Our participation in this meeting is part of our long-standing commitment to the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza, but also to contribute to international efforts to support the reconstruction and recovery of Gaza after the war”.
Despite the Commission’s presence at the Board meeting, the spokesman for the European External Action Service, Anouar El-Anouni, pointed out that the EU still had a number of questions concerning elements in the Board of Peace Charter relating to its scope, governance and compatibility with the UN Charter.
Anouar El-Anouni also announced that the ‘Foreign Affairs’ Council on 23 February would be holding talks with the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, on the concrete contribution that the EU can make to the Gaza peace plan.
On Sunday 15 February, US President Donald Trump said that the members of the Board of Peace had pledged $5 billion for the reconstruction of Gaza. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)