The Italian government needs more time to assess whether joining Donald Trump’s proposed Gaza Peace Board would be compatible with the country’s Constitution. However, we but should not rule out participation, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday.
Speaking during the 30th anniversary episode of Rai’s flagship political programme Porta a Porta, Meloni said Italy remained “open, available, and interested” in the initiative, despite legal obstacles.
“Italy’s position is one of openness: we are open, available, and interested,” Meloni said. “For at least two reasons. The first is that Italy can play a unique role in implementing the Middle East peace plan and building the two-state vision.”
“Second, in general, I wouldn’t consider it a smart choice for Italy and Europe to exclude themselves from a body that is nevertheless interesting.”
The White House has said that 30 of the 50 invited countries have already agreed to join the US-led body, which is structured as a UN-style organisation. Membership reportedly carries a fee of one billion dollars per country. France, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have publicly confirmed they will not participate.
Article 11 of Constitution prevents Italy joining
Meloni said Italy could not join immediately due to constitutional issues, particularly linked to Article 11 of the Constitution, which governs the ceding of sovereignty.
“For us, there is a constitutional compatibility issue because reading the statute has revealed that there are some elements of incompatibility with our Constitution,” she said. “This certainly doesn’t allow us to sign tomorrow. However, we need more time; there is work that needs to be done, but my position remains one of openness.”
She added that the board’s statute conflicted with Article 11, stressing that “we can only cede pieces of sovereignty in conditions of parity”.
“The legal and regulatory issue is primarily related to Article 11 of the Constitution, which allows us to cede pieces of our sovereignty on equal terms among states. And this may be incompatible with some articles of the Statute of the Gaza Peace Board,” Meloni said.
The prime minister also addressed wider tensions between Europe and the United States, arguing that misunderstandings had worsened relations.
“Part of the problems between the US and Europe is perhaps primarily caused by a lack of communication that needs to be restored,” she said.
Shared defence of the Arctic
Referring to recent European military training initiatives in Greenland, Meloni said these had been misinterpreted by Washington.
“When in recent days and weeks some European countries decided to send soldiers for training operations in Greenland, this was interpreted by the US administration as an attack on the Americans,” she said. “I believe instead it was an attempt to respond to a need that the Americans also have.”
She said she had raised the issue directly with Trump.
“That’s why I called Donald Trump and told him: ‘Look, I think you’re not understanding. And I think it’s a mistake to predict or threaten to impose tariffs on those nations that have made this choice.’”
Meloni also commented on the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin among the proposed board’s members, calling it politically sensitive but not unusual.
“Putin’s presence on the Gaza Peace Board is a political issue, but I must point out that in any multilateral, multipolar organization, we sit at the table with people who are distant from us,” she said.
“Russia sits in the United Nations, the UN Security Council, and the G20. In any organization you sit in, you sit with someone who is distant. The multilateral system was created for this.”
