The countries of the European Union (EU) have so far expressed broad reservations about the Peace Board promoted by the US president, Donald Trump, which he presented this Thursday at the Forum in Davos (Switzerland) along with about twenty leaders. This Trump initiative, initially aimed at peace in Gaza, will be discussed during the summit of heads of state and government of the Twenty-Seven held today in Brussels, and will focus on transatlantic relations. So far, at least 35 heads of state and government have agreed to join the peace board, the White House reported on Wednesday, without providing a detailed list. Among the Twenty-Seven, although the ultimate goal of peace is shared, the plan raises doubts because it goes beyond the situation in Gaza and raises many legal questions of compatibility with the treaties of the United Nations and the EU itself, a senior EU official said. European countries have conveyed to Washington their willingness to get involved in the peace and reconstruction of Gaza and at the same time have asked for clarification on several issues regarding the framework, according to the same source, which specified that each member state will decide for itself whether to join the Board, regardless of the community's discussions on the matter. A clear majority of leaders have expressed to Brussels that they are currently not inclined to join the initiative. At today's summit, the EU is only expected to address the issue to coordinate its position but does not plan to reach a common position. Among the countries that have so far agreed to be members of the body are Israel, Argentina, Paraguay, and Egypt, while other nations such as France, Belgium, Norway, and Sweden have rejected the initiative. According to Trump himself on Wednesday, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has agreed to join the body, although the Kremlin has not yet confirmed this. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, stated on Wednesday through one of his spokesmen that Trump's Peace Board is, for now, 'amorphous', and stressed that the UN 'strictly' endorses it for its work in the Strip.
