A new EU-led effort to raise funds for Palestinian reconstruction and claim a role in Gaza’s peace process has drawn criticism for exposing the bloc’s limited political weight in the region.
The Palestine Donor Group meeting held on Thursday — announced earlier this year by the European Commission president — was intended to reinforce the EU’s diplomatic relevance in discussions over Gaza’s future. Brussels is seeking a seat on the international board overseeing Hamas’ disarmament and Gaza’s rebuilding.
“We want to be players, not just payers,” Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Suica said this week.
But several lawmakers argue that the EU is still far from achieving that ambition.
According to Anders Vistisen, chief whip of a far-right political group in the European Parliament, the donor meeting amounted to little more than symbolic diplomacy. He said the EU had invested billions in Palestinian institutions and reform projects over decades without securing stability or accountability.
He added that the political and security framework in Gaza is being shaped primarily by the United States, not by the European Union. Without a coherent strategy, conditions, or leverage, he argued, the bloc will remain a bystander rather than an influential actor.
Hanna Jalloul, a Socialist MEP, said the EU’s inaction toward Israel amid the escalating devastation in Gaza had undermined its credibility. When asked if Thursday’s conference could help the EU become a meaningful player, she responded simply: “No. But dreaming is free.”
A diplomat who attended the gathering — which brought together roughly 60 delegations from Europe and the Middle East — said the EU mainly rebranded what it was already doing. Gaza was discussed only in relation to supporting an existing U.N. Security Council resolution, with no new ideas on reconstruction or governance.
Funding the Palestinian Authority
On the sidelines of the meeting, the EU, alongside several member states, pledged an additional €82 million to the Palestinian Authority (PA), bringing total contributions this year to €88 million.
The EU remains the largest donor to the PA, which governs the West Bank and is expected to take on some responsibilities in Gaza’s administration. Historically, the bloc’s role in the region has centered on humanitarian assistance and financial support.
However, the PA’s influence has eroded in recent years due to corruption allegations, weak governance, and declining public support. Its long-serving president, Mahmoud Abbas, recently turned 90.
Suica stressed that EU support is contingent on the PA’s reform program, describing these reforms as essential for a viable two-state solution — the EU’s stated objective.
An EU official briefing journalists ahead of the donor conference said ongoing support for the PA was Europe’s best path toward involvement in Gaza’s future governance. The official noted that the EU has a small team embedded in the U.S.-led civil-military body overseeing the peace plan and intends to train 3,000 Palestinian police officers, as well as assist in monitoring one of Gaza’s border crossings.
According to a statement by the European Commission, the meeting was “first and foremost an opportunity to assess progress on the PA’s reform agenda and build international political support.”
Koert Debeuf, a professor of Middle East studies at the Brussels School of Governance and former political adviser, argued that the conference was essentially a polished version of the EU’s traditionally passive approach to Gaza. “The EU will do what it always does: give some money, ask for some promises, and then wait.”
U.N. Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese offered a similar view earlier this week, saying the EU’s renewed push came far too late. “Nothing has been done,” she said. “They should have been at the negotiating table long before the destruction of Gaza could no longer be prevented.”