Board of Peace Website Launched as Director Mladenov Meets EU Foreign Policy Chief

The Board of Peace (BoP) published its foundational principles on its newly launched website, as its director, Nickolay Mladenov, met European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. diplomat, was picked to manage the BoP—the brainchild of President Donald Trump—and has been tasked with securing peace in the Gaza Strip and rebuilding it after more than three years of conflict.

Among the foundational principles on the BoP website is the declaration that “durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common-sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed.”

Trump announced a $10 billion U.S. commitment to the BoP on Feb. 19, and said, “The Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly.”

“But we’re going to strengthen the United Nations. We’re going to make sure its facilities are good. They need help, and they need help moneywise,” he added.

On Feb. 23, Mladenov met with Kallas and several EU foreign ministers to discuss Gaza and several other issues.

“We want to be part of the peace process in Gaza and also contribute with what we have,” Kallas said before the meeting.

She added later that Mladenov had updated the EU team on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the BoP’s strategy going forward.

“It was good to hear from Mladenov that it’s really right now trying to improve the situation, that he sees this in the same way, that actually they also need us there contributing,” Kallas said.

The EU team was also briefed about the situation in Gaza by Alexander De Croo, administrator of the U.N. Development Programme.

Progress Hinges on ‘Disarming Hamas’

“On the Middle East, the real progress in Gaza hinges upon disarming Hamas and subsequent withdrawal of the Israeli forces,” Kallas said in a press conference on Monday.

It will oversee the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which is led by former Palestinian Authority official Ali Abdel Hamid Sha’ath.

The BoP was established after the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Nov. 17,  as a “transitional administration with international legal personality that will set the framework, and coordinate funding for, the redevelopment of Gaza.”

Launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, the BoP’s founding members include Bulgaria, Hungary, Morocco, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

Israel joined on Feb. 11, shortly before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Trump at the White House.

But the EU is split on whether to join the BoP, with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen having declined the invitation to join.

A dozen EU countries—Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia—sent observers to the BoP’s first meeting, in Washington on Feb. 19, and the EU flag was displayed at the event.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot criticized von der Leyen’s decision to send European Commissioner Dubravka Šuica to the meeting as an observer. In a post on X on Sunday, Barrot said Šuica did not have a mandate to attend.

“Beyond the legitimate political questions raised by the ‘Board of Peace,’ the commission must scrupulously respect European law and institutional balance in all circumstances,” Barrot said in his post.

After the meeting with Mladenov on Monday, Kallas said one member of the EU was vetoing new sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, which had been agreed by the rest of the bloc. She did not identify the country.

Kallas also said the EU’s offer to train Palestinian police officers in Gaza was awaiting approval by Israel.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Israel Defense Force regarding the disarmament of Hamas and the training of Palestinian police in Gaza, but did not receive a response by publication time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Board of Peace Director Nickolay Mladenov. The Epoch Times regrets the error.