“Observer country”. This is the formula chosen to have Italy participate in the Board of Peace for Gaza wanted by Trump while respecting the limits imposed by our Constitution on full membership. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. But what does it mean? Let’s try to understand it.
Middle solution
Let’s start with the fact: Italy will participate in the first meeting of the Board of Peace for Gaza as an observer country. This is a hybrid status: we participate, but without formal membership. A detail that is not only in the words, in the form, but in the substance.
The “no” to full membership had been announced immediately, ever since Trump’s “call” arrived. There is an obstacle linked to article 11 of the Constitution, which allows us to cede pieces of our sovereignty on equal terms between states. This is inconsistent with some articles of the Board’s statute. Article 11 of the Constitution is the same one that establishes the “repudiation of war as an instrument of offense and resolution of international disputes”. The article, among other things, regulates Italian participation in “international organizations” and specifies that it can be done in “equal conditions with other states”. And then there is another element. The ratification of international treaties must pass through a vote of Parliament with an ordinary law.
The constitutional problems were immediately highlighted. One way to “get around them” was to amend the Board’s statute and this did not happen. The role of “observer” is a solution that allows Italy to be there and not be there at the same time.
The details have not been clarified, but it seems likely that it is not the Prime Minister but Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, or a lower-ranking government representative, who sits at the table. A bit like the EU does, sending the Commissioner to the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.
The controversy
The announcement of Italy’s participation in the Board as an observer comes at a delicate moment for diplomacy. There is still an echo of the words with which German Chancellor Friedrich Merz marked the “gap” between Europe and the United States, and from Brussels that of the EU’s “reservations” on the Board, Meloni reiterates his balancing act in transatlantic relations. And the reaction from the opposition was immediate, with the Democratic Party branding it “another right-wing antics”. Nicola Fratoianni, of Avs, who warns the government: “It cannot “bring our country into that sort of business committee” and in any case it must “go through Parliament”.
Meloni claims the “propensity for dialogue is in Italy’s DNA”. He explains that the invitation “as an observer country is a good solution to the problem of constitutional compatibility. At what level we will participate we still have to see” but Rome’s response will be “positive”, he adds, because “with all the work that Italy has done, is doing and must do in the Middle East to stabilize a very complex and fragile situation, an Italian and also European presence is necessary”. And regarding participation in the Board, Tajani also says: “It is important to do so, for the reconstruction of Gaza, the European Commission will also participate.”
According to what we learn, the Government has indicated its willingness to report to Parliament on Tuesday regarding the ‘Board. Tajani should go to the courtroom.
The Board of Peace
The “Board of Peace” was originally intended to oversee the reconstruction of the Palestinian territory. In practice it has become something different. Its statute does not appear to limit its role in Gaza but it is “an international organization that aims to promote stability, restore reliable and legitimate government and ensure lasting peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”, its preamble reads. And it will “carry out such peacebuilding functions in accordance with international law.”