Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” has come under scrutiny from European leaders as its remit expands from a temporary mechanism for Gaza reconstruction into a permanent global body chaired by the former US president. What was initially sold as a narrow oversight tool has quietly evolved into a standing institution operating in parallel to the United Nations, with Trump setting the agenda and issuing resolutions unilaterally.
More than 60 world leaders have been invited to participate, but membership beyond three years requires a payment of $1bn. European diplomats, who had reluctantly supported the original plan to keep Trump engaged in Gaza, are now expressing alarm at the board’s shifting purpose. At the Davos summit, European leaders welcomed Trump’s decision to drop tariff threats against eight countries and his announcement of a “framework for a future deal” on Greenland, but scepticism remains high over the board’s true intentions.
The board’s charter, circulated among global leaders, recasts it as a permanent institution tasked with promoting peace worldwide. This marks a significant departure from UN Security Council Resolution 2803, passed in November, which focused solely on Gaza. Palestinian-American historian Rashid Khalidi described the plan as a return to “pre-first world war era of naked imperialism”, arguing that the masks of corporate colonial control are simply being dropped.
European officials have pointed out that Nato has no authority to negotiate on Greenland, and Danish and Greenlandic representatives have pushed back against Trump’s claims. With the board now facing a potential boycott and intense scrutiny, questions remain over who will govern in Palestine and whether this initiative represents a new form of external control.
