10/16/2025October 16, 2025Europe reduced to ‘supporting role’ in mediating lasting peace in Middle East
Jean-Loup Samaan, senior research fellow at The Middle East Institute of the National University (MENA) in Singapore, told DW that European countries will likely only play a supporting role in efforts to secure lasting peace in the Middle East.
“I don’t think there is any serious possibility for the Europeans being the central mediator in that process,” he said.
“But there will be a supporting role again, with regards to security and defense issues or the reconstruction of Gaza and investing in the governance instruments of the Palestinian state.
“So these are significant areas where the Europeans could play a role on the long term.”
US President Donald Trump spearheaded the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and Samaan added that Israel does not have a similar level of trust with Europe.
“There’s a concern, I think shared by both the Americans and the Israelis, that the Europeans may make a lot of promises, but they won’t deliver,” he said. “They lack credibility in terms of the resources and the political resolve.
“That’s something that is very recurrent in the discussions between all those actors, you will see very often the Israelis dismissing European initiatives as empty promises and are disconnected from reality.”
Additionally, a number of European countries, including France and the United Kingdom, recognized a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.
“There’s also a concern that the Europeans would push or would lean much more toward a Palestinian position in negotiations,” he said.
Fragile Gaza truce strained as tensions rise over ceasefire
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