Most European countries have either declined US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the peace commission overseeing Gaza reconstruction, or politely indicated they are “considering” joining, citing concerns.
From within the European Union, only Hungary and Bulgaria accepted. This is a better record of unity than was demonstrated in 2003, when then-President George W. Bush called on member states to join the invasion of Iraq.
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Spain, the UK, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia said yes.
France declined the invitation on the grounds that Trump’s council “goes beyond the framework of Gaza and raises serious questions, especially regarding the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be questioned.”
President Trump sharply disinvited Denmark, a close U.S. ally, following a diplomatic row in which he threatened to take the Danish territory of Greenland by force.
U.S. leaders signed the peace commission’s charter on January 22 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, calling it “one of the most important organizations ever created.”
As an attempt to replace the United Nations, which is supposed to fulfill the mandate of the Council, it probably appears too important to many of the countries invited to participate.
President Trump has said he believes the United Nations should survive, but recent threats suggest he does not respect the U.N. Charter, which prohibits border violations.
That impression was reinforced by the fact that he invited Russia to the Council during a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Trump needs a big win heading into the midterm elections.”
“President Trump is thinking about the domestic politics of the United States. Things are not going well. He needs a big victory ahead of the midterm elections in November,” said Angelos Syrigos, a professor of international law at Panteion University in Athens.
Syrigos said the U.S. president spent his first year in office looking for foreign policy outcomes that could be sold at home, citing the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the bombing of Iran and efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
President Trump has called on board members to contribute $1 billion each to earn lifetime memberships, but he has not said how the money will be used.
His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a member of the board of directors.
“How is this going to work? Will Trump and his son-in-law manage it?” Sirigos asked.
Catherine Fieschi, a political scientist and fellow at the European University Institute, believed there were also more ambitious geopolitical goals.
“It’s almost as if Trump is very deliberately bringing together the middle powers…to weaken the possibility of these powers working independently and striking a deal,” she said.
Like President Bush’s 2003 “coalition of the willing” for Iraq, President Trump’s initiative brought together countries with difficult to find common ground, from Vietnam and Mongolia to Turkiye and Belarus.
Mr. Fieschi believed that President Trump was trying to corral the Chinese powers to prevent other forms of multilateralism, a path to power that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney outlined in his Davos speech, which greatly angered President Trump.
“In a world of competing great powers, the countries in between have a choice: compete with each other for advantage, or work together to create third avenues of influence,” Carney said, encouraging countries to build “different coalitions on different issues” and harness “the power of legitimacy, integrity and rules.”
He denounced the “collapse of the world order… and the beginning of a cruel reality in which geopolitics between the great powers is unrestricted.”
After the speech, President Trump immediately rescinded Canada’s invitation.
Mr. Fieschi believed that President Trump’s goal was to counter the accumulation of power and legitimacy.
“Here, in a sense, it provides a framework for President Trump and the United States to participate in, tying them to an organization that implies constraints,” Fieschi said. “It is less about benign multilateralism and more about blocking the ability of middle powers to hedge their risks or have any kind of autonomy, strategic or otherwise.”
At the same time, she said, President Trump has indicated that the peace commission “may have more authority than it currently has at the United Nations.”
“President Trump thinks of this like a golf club, so he’s going to charge membership fees,” Fieschi said.
“If it was the cost of rebuilding[Gaza]I don’t think people would necessarily balk at it,” she noted, adding that the cost had “terrible oligarchic motives.”
The Peace Commission was required to be established by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 last November to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction.
It is defined as an “interim administration” intended to last only “until the Palestinian Authority (PA) satisfactorily completes its reform program and effectively regains control of Gaza.”
Trump’s board charter makes no mention of Gaza or the board’s limited lifespan. Instead, it expands the board’s mandate to “areas affected by or threatened with conflict,” and the board “shall be dissolved at such time as the President deems necessary or appropriate.”
China, which has portrayed itself as a harbinger of multipolarization and a challenger to the US-led world order, rejected the invitation.
“No matter how the international situation changes, China remains resolutely determined to protect the international system with the United Nations at its core,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said last week.
The United Nations itself appears to be offended by President Trump’s plan.
“The United Nations Security Council exists solely in its Charter mandate to act on behalf of all Member States in matters of peace and security,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres wrote on social media on Monday, January 26.
“No other group or special coalition can legally require all member states to comply with peace and security decisions,” he wrote.
Guterres called for reforms to strengthen the legitimacy of the UN Security Council by better reflecting the current global balance of power, 81 years after it was established. But his statement can also be read as a veiled criticism of Trump’s version of the peace commission.
There are also issues with transparency and governance.
Trump has appointed himself chairman of the board, giving him control over all directors. He will be able to appoint executives to the board, financial transparency will be voluntary, and the board “may approve the opening of accounts if necessary,” he said.
