Rome – In a heated parliamentary session, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed on Tuesday that Italy will participate as an “observer country” on Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, a decision described as “colonialist” by the opposition and met with “perplexity” even from the Vatican.
Meloni, constrained by constitutional limitations from fully joining the controversial body focused on the situation in Gaza, will not attend its inaugural meeting this Thursday in Washington. No representatives from major European nations are expected to participate, with attendance largely limited to allies such as Argentine President Javier Milei and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, prompting Meloni to adopt a low profile. Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani is expected to attend in her place.
The prospect of Meloni being the sole leader of a G7 nation at the formal launch of this “Trumpist” format – an entity outside of multilateral frameworks and international conventions – was deemed untenable. As Francesco Boccia, leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate, stated, the board represents a “virtual privatization of foreign policy exempt from rules.”
“This Board of Peace has only one owner, Donald Trump, and Meloni once again demonstrates that she is his subordinate,” Boccia said in an interview with La Repubblica, summarizing the opposition’s concerns. “Her sole objective is to engage in a gigantic real estate speculation on the skin of the Palestinians.”
Tajani defended Italy’s decision to join the Council as an observer before Parliament, navigating a tense session where the governing coalition secured a vote of support. “Italy’s absence from a debate on peace in the Mediterranean would not only be politically incomprehensible but also contrary to Article 11 of our Constitution, which rejects war as a means of resolving disputes,” he argued.
“The government considered it appropriate to accept the invitation of the US administration to attend, as an observer, the first meeting of the Board of Peace… a balanced solution that respects our constitutional limitations,” Tajani added.
That same Article 11, which renounces war, also prevents Italy from fully participating in the Board of Peace, as it only allows the country to participate in such forums “on equal footing with other States.” This condition is not met within the “Trumpist” format, where Donald Trump dictates the rules.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, expressed his bewilderment at Italy’s decision. “We have taken note that Italy will participate as an observer, evidently You’ll see points that leave us perplexed, critical points that would need some explanations,” Parolin said, following a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Meloni at the Italian nunciature in Rome.
“It is important that an attempt is being made to give an answer, but for us there are some critical issues that must be resolved,” he added, noting that internationally, it is primarily the United Nations that manages these crises.
While there is no Palestinian representation on the Board, Tajani assured Parliament that “Italy’s commitment to Gaza, including its participation in the Council of Peace meeting in Washington, is clear: to create the conditions for achieving two states capable of coexisting in peace and security.”
“Our commitment is concrete and is destined to grow. It stems from the constant dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and all the key partners in the region, with whom we have maintained a close and constant relationship in recent months,” he said.
“We will participate in the Washington meeting strengthened by the important contribution that our country has made from the beginning to the ceasefire and to humanitarian assistance to the population of the Strip, through food for Gaza,” Tajani stated.
The opposition rejected these arguments with a resolution and through numerous interventions, accusing Meloni’s government of colonialism, subservience to Trump, and of undermining both the United Nations and the European Union. While the EU clarified it would not be a member of the Council, it will be represented at the Washington meeting by Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica.
A European Commission spokesperson clarified from Brussels: “We have always been clear that we are doing everything possible to support the peace process in the Middle East, to address the needs of the citizens of Gaza and to support reconstruction efforts. This is also the framework for the decision to include Commissioner [for the Mediterranean Dubravka] Šuica in the specific point on Gaza and its reconstruction within the Board of Peace.”
Giuseppe Provenzano, a deputy from the Democratic Party, described Italy’s observer status as a “violation of our country’s international position.”
“No major European country is participating because it represents a new attack on the United Nations and the most enthusiastic countries are autocrats and ideological allies of this world, such as Hungary and Argentina,” he pointed out.
Provenzano also accused the right-wing Meloni government of adhering to a “colonialist model” and recalled that Cardinal Pier Battista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, recently defined the Board of Peace as “a colonial operation,” arguing that “others are deciding for the Palestinians.”
Italy’s participation comes as the first formal meeting of the Board of Peace is scheduled for in Washington, with at least twenty countries expected to attend. Donald Trump is expected to announce a multibillion-dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza.
