The freshly signed peace deal might or might not herald a true “historic dawn of a new Middle East” or be just as ‘strong, durable and everlasting peace’ as President Trump envisioned, as it’s questionable how long it might last (the more so as internal Palestinian fighting has already cast a shadow on it) or how many other Arab nations will join the Abraham Accords at Trump’s urging. And so on.
Previous efforts and subsequent ceasefires quickly collapsed.
Neither does it solve some crucial issues like the disarmament of Hamas or the details of how the Gaza Strip will look like in the future. Trust between the parties is at all times low and amidst the 20-points of the plan, there are many that have been previously rejected by Hamas.
But it’s the undeniable proof of the strength and power of negotiations: the U.S.-brokered peace plan is a significant breakthrough after two years of devastating conflict.
The peace deal also proves that the U.S., and/or President Trump still have more leverage than anybody else in the world, including the EU’s complete leadership or other European high-profile politicians.
Think French President Emmanuel Macron who likes to portray himself as an important global leader, yet, all he could do was to endure Trump’s ‘aggressively long handshake’ in Egypt and turn towards the cameras when the American president told him what to do. And let’s not forget the unforgettable moment when Trump simply mocked him for ‘taking a low-key approach’ and not standing on the stage behind him as the other leaders did. Macron’s remarks on the ‘two-state solution’ had just as much influence on the outcome of the negotiations as his April 2025 tour of force in Egypt.
Though representatives from around 30 countries and several international organizations attended the Sharm El Sheik Summit, where Turkey and other regional powers played an important role, but in the end, it was the U.S.’ ‘maximum pressure’ that finally pushed both Israel and Hamas over the limits: no American president has literally pressured an Israeli prime minister before the way Trump did with ‘his friend, Bibi’.
Probably not surprisingly, the joint declaration signed by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United States in Sharm El Sheik bears the name “Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity”. The 20-step peace deal, though it builds on a previous, French-inspired plan, will forever be remembered as Trump’s achievement.
The EU’s real contribution to the peace deal?
“Hats off to POTUS,” as European Council President António Costa said, appraising Trump’s leadership skills, with that basically acknowledging that the EU has played the role of a mere assistant.
In spite of the hundreds of hours of debates in the European Parliament that gave the world countless resolutions, each worth less than the paper it was printed on as it had basically no influence on the events. Neither did von der Leyen’s previous announcement about the planned restrictions to trade with Israel.
The EU was sidelined, pretty much the same way the Palestinian Authority was during the negotiations.
This probably won’t change much in the future, either.
The EU’s main role in implementing Trump’s 20-point plan?
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez might hope that Spain and Europe will play a crucial role in the peace process, but right now their assigned role is different.
First, the EU is expected to “fully support” the agreement and secondly, to keep an eye on it and to continue to finance the Palestinian Authority as the area inches towards a ‘credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood’, however it will look like.
“We will be an active force within the Palestinian Donors Group”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced, promising to maintain the EU’s role as the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority.
A couple of days later, Kaja Kallas announced that the EU will boost its role in Gaza by restarting its monitoring operation of the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
But no current European leader is part of the ‘Board of Peace’, in any capacity. In fact, the official version of the plan doesn’t even mention the bloc.
Not the best way to prove that the bloc is an important player in global politics – or rather, the proof of the EU’s ability to exert influence in the world (or in the Middle East in particular), has weakened considerably.
For Trump, if it lasts, it might mean a step closer to his dream of a Nobel Peace Prize.
