But according to some lawmakers, that goal is a fair way off.
“Brussels would like to give the impression of leadership, but in reality the Palestine donor group is yet another symbolic meeting,” Anders Vistisen, chief whip of the far-right Patriots group, told POLITICO. “The EU has poured billions into Palestinian institutions, projects and so-called reform processes for decades — and it has neither delivered stability nor accountability.”
It’s “the United States — not the European Union — that is defining the political and security framework in Gaza,” he added. “As long as Brussels acts as a cash machine without a coherent strategy, conditions, or political leverage, the EU will remain a spectator rather than a meaningful actor.”
Hanna Jalloul, a Socialists and Democrats MEP, said the EU’s inaction on Israel amid mounting atrocities in Gaza had damaged its credibility as a stakeholder in the peace process. Asked if the outcomes of Thursday’s much-vaunted conference could help make the EU a real player in Gaza, Jalloul laughed. “No,” she said. “But dreaming is free.”
One diplomat who attended the conference, which gathered around 60 delegations from countries in Europe and the Middle East, said the EU had “repackaged what they already do into this.” There was little mention of Gaza beyond reiterating support for the U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing Trump’s plan, and no “creative thinking” about how to reconstruct or govern Gaza, the diplomat said.
Funding the Palestinian Authority
At an event on the margins of the meeting, the EU, Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain committed an additional €82 million to the Palestinian Authority, bringing the amount pledged this year to €88 million.