From the Liveblog of
Friday, February 20, 2026
EU Commission defends attendance at Board of Peace summit after French criticism
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe EU Commission had the right to accept the invitation to participate in the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, despite criticism from various member states, a Commission spokesperson says.
“It is within the remit of the Commission to accept invitations of this kind,” Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho tells reporters in Brussels.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday said the Commission should not have accepted the invitation.
“It had not received a mandate from the Council to do so,” he said in a post on X.
Pinho stresses that the participation in the meeting did not mean the Commission endorsed the board of peace.
“With the participation of Commissioner [Dubravka] Suica, there is no endorsement of the board of peace; (it) is a clear sign of our commitment to Palestine and the reconstruction of Gaza,” she says.
Today I am attending the inaugural Board of Peace event in Washington on behalf of the @EU_Commission.
Our objective is clear: coordinated action, accountable governance, and tangible results for the Palestinian people.
As the largest international donor to the Palestinian… pic.twitter.com/Xv98tl3VlQ
— Dubravka Šuica (@dubravkasuica) February 19, 2026
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